LILLIAN  RUSSELL. 


CHICAGO 


BY 


LD  AY 


THE 


PLEASURE  SEEKER'S  GUIDE 


TO  THE 


CHICAGO  : 

THOMSON  AND  ZIMMERMAN, 

234  ANB  236  LA  SALLH  ST., 

l8ga. 


Copyrighted  1893, 
BY  THOMSON  AND  ZIMMERMAN. 


\_All  rights  reserved.] 


PART  I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

CHAPTER  I.— Where  to  Stay— A  Concise  Description  of  the 
Hotels  of  Chicago,  their  Characteristics,  their  Prices,  with 
some  Account  of  the  People  Who  Patronize  Each — The 
Great  Palmer  House  Tragedy. 

CHAPTER  II.— The  Theatres— A  Complete   Description  of  the 

City's    Splendid    Play    Houses  and  the  Attractions   They 

Present — Beautiful  Belles  of  Burlesque. 
CHAPTER  III.— The  Great  Auditorium  and  the  New  German 

Theatre — Two  New  Edifices  of  which  all  Chicagoans   are 

Proud. 
CHAPTER  IV.— Two  Unique  Playhouses.     Being  the  Madison 

Street  Opera  House  and  Park  Theatre,  where  the  Shows 

are  not  Painfully  Orthodox  and  Feminine  Beauty  is  the 

Chief  Attraction. 
CHAPTER  V.— Free  and  Easy  Shows— Where  Etiquette  is  not 

always  Strictly  Observed.     Being  Music  and  Dance  Halls, 

and  Such    Like  Free  and  Easy  Resorts — "Papa"    Engel's 

"Variety"  Palace. 
CHAPTER  VI. — Churches  and  Church  Services.     A  Full  Account 

of  Chicago's  Handsomest  and  Most  Popular  Churches,  their 

Location  and  their  Pastors. 
CHAPTER  VII.— The  Panoramas  and  Libby  Prison — Places  of 

Delightful  but  Quiet  Entertainment  that  the  Stranger  cannot 

Afford  to  Miss. 

CHAPTER  VIII.— Perils  and  Pitfalls— A  Chapter  that  All  Should 
Read,  inasmuch  as  it  Tells  of  the  Traps  Set  by  the  Wicked 
for  the  Unwary. 


CHAPTER  IX.— As  to  Adventuresses— The  Seductive  but  Con- 
scienceless Creatures  whose  Wiles  Work  Mischief  with  those 
who  Do  Not  Play  the  Prudent  Part  and  Keep  them  at  a  Dis- 
tance. 

CHAPTER  X.— The  Tiger  and  its  Haunts— Gambling  Games 
Great  and  Small  wherein  the  Process  of  Parting  the  Fool 
and  his  Money  is  Carried  on  with  Facility  and  Dispatch. 

CHAPTER  XI.  —  Masquerades  and  Similar  Entertainments 
wherein  the  Giddy  Find  Delight.  Fun  and  Revelry  the 
Order  of  the  Night. 

CHAPTER  XII.— On  Shopping— A  Few  Pertinent  Pointers  for 
Purchasers. 

CHAPTER  XIII.— Caroussels— A  Unique  Form  of  Diversion  that 
is  Patronized  by  Many. 

CHAPTER  XIV.— Turkish  Baths— Massage  —  Manicures  —  The 
First  the  Winebibber's  Salvation,  the  Second  a  Doubtful 
Luxury,  the  Third  a  Charming  Experience. 

CHAPTER  XV.— Hackmen  and  their  Ways— A  Few  Hints  as  to 
the  Proper  Way  to  Treat  "Cabby"— His  Legal  Rates  of 
Fare,  etc. 

CHAPTER  XVI.— The  City's  Moral  Code— A  Complete  Refuta- 
tion of  the  Libelous  Assertion  that  Chicago  is  the  Wicked- 
est City  in  the  World. 

CHAPTER  XVII.— The  Parks  and  Boulevards— Which  Perhaps 
Constitute  the  City's  Grandest  Feature. 

CHAPTER  XVIII.— Racing— The  Three  Great  Race  Tracks 
where  One  May  See  Unrivaled  Contests  in  Equine  Speed — 
The  Glories  of  Derby  Day  and  the  Gay  Cavalcade  on  the 
Avenues. 

CHAPTER  XIX.  —  Open  Air  Attractions.  Which  Bring  the 
Pleasure  Seeker  Entertainment  and  the  Delights  of  Fresh 
Air  at  the  Same  Time — Mighty  Pyrotechnical  Displays. 

CHAPTER  XX.— An  Ideal  Afternoon— The  Prettiest  Drive  That 
Mortal  May  Wish  to  Take,  With  Possibly  Other  Charms 
Thrown  in. 

CHAPTER  XXI.— On  the  Water— The  Aquatic  Side  of  the  Paris 
of  America — Trips  of  all  Sorts  on  the  Lake. 


CHAPTER  XXII.— The  Restaurants  of  Chicago— Places  Where 
the  Best  of  Provender  is  to  be  Had  at  Moderate  Rates — The 
Fascinating  Table  D'Hote. 

CHAPTER  XXIII.— The  Haymarket  Monument,  with  a  Succinct 
Account  of  One  of  the  Most  Thrilling  Periods  in  Chicago's 
History. 

CHAPTER  XXIV.— Cheyenne— A  Unique  Spot  in  the  City's 
Centre  that  it  is  Safer  to  Read  About  than  to  Visit. 

CHAPTER  XXV.— Candies  and  Flowers— Some  Beautiful  Chi- 
cago Shops. 

CHAPTER  XXVI.— Summer  Night  Concerts— The  Delights  of 
Music  Enjoyed  by  the  People  During  the  Dog  Days. 

CHAPTER  XXVII.— Special  Features— The  Elevated  Railroads; 
the  County  Jail;  the  Masonic  Temple  and  Other  Sights 
Worth  Seeing. 

CHAPTER  XXVIII.— A  Few  Final  Words— Mainly  in  an  Advis- 
ory Strain. 

PART  II. 

THE  GREAT  WORLD'S  FAIR.— Being  a  Complete  History  of 
the  Stupendous  Exposition  that  \fill  be  Thrown  Open  in 
1893,  when  the  Peopled  World  Will  be  Called  Upon  to 
View  the  Progress  of  the  Future  Metropolis — How  the 
Exposition  will  be  Opened  in  the  Fall  of  the  Present  Year 
— The  Colossal  Buildings  and  Their  Contents — Hints  for 
the  Wayfarer  to  Follow  in  His  Strolls  About  the  City  Dur 
ing  Fair  Time. 


INDEX  TO  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


FULL  PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

Lillian  Russell Frontispiece 

A  Group  of  FoOtlight    Favorites 220 

Popular  Playhouses 40 

A  Summer  Concert  Garden 168 

Masquerades  Dream 118 

Bird's  Eye  View  of  the  World's  Fair 260 

Auditorium  Proscenium  Arch 200 

Panoramas,  Casino  and  Libby  Prison 80 

MINOR  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

I.  The  Compiler  at  Work 21 

II.  The  Guest  Registering 24 

III.  Driving  About  the  Town 27 

IV.  Harvey's  "Wayside  Inn" 30 

V.  At  the  Theatres 34 

VI.  At  the  Stage  Entrance 38 

VII.  The  Auditorium  Tower 43 

VIII.  Astride  of  the  Moon 49 

IX.  '  Two  Unique  Play  Houses 51 

X.  At  Free  and  Easy  Shows 53 

XI.  Types  at  Engel's 66 

XII.  Churches 69 

XIII.  Professor  Swing  in  the  Pulpit 75 

XIV.  John   Brown's  Forge 79 

XV.  Perils  and  Pitfalls 81 

XVI.  Buying  Banana  Stalks "83 

XVII.  The  Adventuress 87 

XVIII.  Catching  On 92 

XIX.  The  Tiger's  Implements 97 

XX.  A  Minion  of  the  Tiger 99 

XXI.  Victims  of  the  Tiger 101 

XXII.  Satellites  of  the  Tiger 104 

XXIII.  A  Masquerade  Sprite 114 

XXIV.  The  Fair  Shopper 120 

XXV.  On  the  Caroussel ' 123 


10 

PAGE 

XXVI.  In  the  Turkish  Bath 127 

XXVII.  The  Pretty  Manicure 129 

XXVIII.  The  Guileless  Hackman 134 

XXIX.  The  Woman's    Temple 130 

XXX.  The  Pretty  Wheelwoman 144 

XXXI.  Looking  at  the  Race 157 

XXXII.  The   Huckster •. 162 

XXXIII.  The  Circus   Sprite 164 

XXXIV.  An  Ideal  Afternoon 166 

XXXV.  On    the  Water 183 

XXXVI.  Music    Hath   Charms 171 

XXXVII.  The  Waiter 187 

XXXVIII.  A  Petit  Souper 191 

XXXIX.  An  Anarchist 194 

XL.                The  Haymarket  Monument 198 

XLI.              A    Cheyenne  Fairy 201 

XLII.            Cheyenne  Types 203 

XLIII.          Candies  and  Flowers 206 

XLIV.           Elevated  Railroads 216 

XLV.             The  Author  Moralizes 223 

WORLD'S  FAIR  PICTURES. 

I.  Administration  Building 224 

II.  Figure  from  the  Mining  Building 234 

III.  Figure  from  the  Liberal  Arts  Building 242 

IV.  Benjamin  Franklin 247 

V.  A  Dedicatory  Scene 251 

VI.  A   Chicago  Hussar 257 

VII.  Group  From  the  Woman's  Building 261 

VIII.  Group  From  the  Woman's  Building 263 

IX!      Group  From  the  Liberal  Arts  Building 265 

X.  Scene  in  the  Chinese  Tea  Palace 266 

XI.  Scene  in  the  Moorish  Village 268 

XII.  An  Opium  Fiend 275 

XIII.  Finis— The  Author  at  Rest.  .                   281 


INTRODUCTORY. 


AT  a  Time  when  the  attention 
of  the  world  is  concentrated  upon 
Chicago,  as  it  is  at  present,  it  is 
fitting  that  the  stranger  within  its 
gates,  as  well  as  the  uninitiated 
native,  should  be  made  aware 
of  the  various  attractions,  of 
all  sorts  and  conditions,  pos- 
sessed by  the  future  metropo- 
lis of  the  United  States.  Chi- 
cago  has  been  called  the 
. ..  Paris  of  America,  that  ti- 
tle having  been  bestowed 
upon  it  by  some  bright- 
minded  and  discerning  person  who  evidently  knew 
whereof  he  spoke.  That  the  title  is  indisputable 
goes  without  saying.  In  no  other  city  of  its  size 
on  the  continent  is  the  same  variety  of  amusements 
to  be  found  as  in  this  one.  All  tastes  may  be 
promptly  satisfied,  all  preferences  catered  to.  If, 
when  confronted  by  the  marvelously  variegated 
array  of  recreations  and  pursuits  that  this  great 
city  has  to  offer,  the  stranger  or  the  periodical  vis- 


22 

itor  should  turn  away  dissatisfied,  imagining  that 
he  has  failed  to  discover  anything  especially  suited 
to  his  fancy,  his  mental  and  physical  organism  must 
be  sadly  askew.  It  is  his  fault  and  not  Chicago's. 

From  now  on,  and  for  the  next  year  or  so,  this 
mighty  city  by  the  lake  will  swarm  with  myriads 
of  men  and  women  of  all  races,  tribes  and  lan- 
guages, being  brought  hither  by  the  Great  Expo- 
sition that  is  destined  to  be  the  marvel  of  all 
nations.  That  some  of  this  floating  mass  will  re- 
main here  is  beyond  question.  In  that  case  the 
population  will  swell  until  the  two  million  mark  is 
passed,  and  in  the  proportion  that  the  population 
increases,  so  also  will  increase  the  attractions  of  the 
city  that  harbors  it. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  the  present  work  to  set  forth, 
in  a  terse  but  comprehensive  manner,  the  various 
sorts  of  entertainment  offered  by  the  Coming 
Metropolis.  The  Author,  while  sufficiently  modest 
to  keep  his  identity  a  secret,  makes  bold  to  assert 
that  no  person  who  scans  the  pages  of  this  book 
will  be  able,  after  he  has  done  so,  to  lay  claim  to 
ignorance  of  the  means  whereby  to  procure  enter- 
tainment or  solace  for  such  hours  of  idleness  as  he 
may  find  on  his  hands  during  his  stay  in  this  city. 
The  present  area  of  Chicago  is  a  fraction  over  180 
square  miles.  What  its  area  will  be  next  year,  or 
ten  years  hence,  nobody  can  predict  For  the 
present  it  is  sufficient  to  know  that  within  that  area 


23 

of  1  <sO  square  miles  there  dwells  a  community  ac- 
tive, energetic,  mercurial — eager  in  business  and 
therefore  keen  in  its  thirst  for  recreation  outside  of 
business  hours. 

The  present  work  is  undertaken  in  no  spirit  of 
levity  or  thoughtlessness.  Its  author  is  a  man-of- 
the-world  who,  recognizing  the  desire  of  the  aver- 
age man  to  be  amused  when  the  cares  of  business 
are  done,  and  being  fully  cognizant  of  the  qualifi- 
cations of  this  city  in  the  amusement  line,  aims  to 
instruct  the  uninitiated  wayfarer  in  the  paths  he 
may  follow  with  the  most  satisfaction  to  himself 
and  the  greatest  benefit  to  his  system.  If  but  one 
reader  confesses  his  indebtedness  to  this  work  for 
enlightenment  in  the  smallest  degree,  its  purpose 
will  have  been  achieved. 

With  renewed  assurances,  therefore,  that  the 
seeker  after  light  upon  a  great  city's  manner  of 
amusing  itself  will  not  seek  in  vain,  the  Author 
makes  his  bow  to  the  reader  and  tenders  him  an 
invitation  to  accompany  him  through  the  following 
pages. 


CHAPTER  I. 


WHERE   TO    STAY. 


course 


THE  question  of  location  must  of 
i  decided  by  the  individual 
the  visitor.  It  would  be 
e  indeed  if,  with  a  transient 
ition  roughly  estimated  at 
),000,  the  city  did  not  pos- 
s  hotels  of  all  grades  and 
descriptions,  from  which 
the  most  captious-mind- 
ed person  might  take  his 
choice  and  procure  satis- 
faction. Chicago,  at  the 
present  writing,  contains, 
at  least  1,500  hotels,  with  constant  additions  each 
year.  There  is  no  more  difficult  task  than  to  tell 
a  man  with  any  accuracy  what  hotel  will  suit  him 
best.  A  caravansary  that  would  delight  one  man 
would  disgust  another  and  vice  versa.  The  most 
satisfactory  plan,  therefore,  and  the  safest,  is  to 
give  a  brief  pen-sketch  of  the  leading  hotels,  with 
some  idea  of  the  special  characteristics  of  each  and 
the  style  of  entertainment  they  afford. 

The   Lake  Front   hotels — the  Richelieu,  Audi- 
torium, and  Leland — enjoy  the  cream  of  the  new 


25 

transient  patronage.  By  "  new,"  is  meant  those 
people  who  have  never  before  visited  Chicago,  and 
who  naturally  select  the  houses  with  the  prettiest 
sites.  The  Auditorium  (Michigan  Avenue  and 
Congress  Street),  despite  its  gorgeousness  and  the 
flourish  of  trumpets  with  which  it  was  opened,  does 
not  indulge  in  ruinous  rates.  It  is  a  very  large 
hotel  and  accommodations  may  be  had  therein 
from  $4  per  day  up.  Perhaps  it  is  this  moderate 
charge  that  makes  it  so  great  a  favorite  with  the 
theatrical  profession,  the  more  prosperous  mem- 
bers of  which  enjoy  the  comfort  it  affords.  Well- 
to-do  managers,  famous  stars,  and  sometimes  inter- 
rogatively opulent  soubrettes  and  chorus  girls  seek 
lodging  at  the  Auditorium,  and  some  very  pretty 
romances  are  narrated  of  flirtations  more  or  less 
interesting  which  the  "blooded"  habitues  of  this 
swell  hotel  "  strike  up  "  with  the  fair  foodight  fav- 
orites who  enjoy  its  hospitality.  It  is  worth  the 
price  of  a  day's  board,  or  at  least  a  dinner,  some- 
times, to  take  a  stroll  in  the  corridors  and  catch  the 
fragments  of  delicious  lays  that  are  being  caroled 
forth  by  the  song  birds  who  are  practicing  their 
chosen  art  in  the  sanctity  of  their  various  cham- 
bers. Especially  is  this  the  case  during  a  season 
of  grand  or  light  opera  in  the  great  theater  adjoin- 
ing the  hotel,  in  which  case  the  latter  is  sure  to  be 
thronged  with  singers  of  both  sexes,  and  of  all 
grades  of  artistic  and  professional  prominence. 


26 

There  is  a  roomy  balcony  over  the  entrance  to  the 
Auditorium  which,  on  pleasant  days,  is  thronged 
with  gaily  dressed  people  of  both  sexes,  who  sit 
there  and  enjoy  the  dual  delight  of  drinking  in  the 
balmy  air  and  watching  the  cavalcade  on  the  broad 
avenue  below. 

A  block  north  of  the  Auditorium  is  the  Richelieu, 
the  famous  hostelry  the  destinies  of  which  are  pre- 
sided over  by  the  renowned  "Cardinal"  Bemis. 
For  people  of  means,  to  whom  money  is  less  of  an 
object  than  the  engagement  of  luxuries,  the  Riche- 
lieu, they  say,  is  the  place  par  excellence  at  which 
to  stop.  Some  notable  people  have  honored  the 
Richelieu  with  their  presence,  and  one  is  just  as 
liable  to  run  plumb  against  a  real,  live  English 
Lord  or  Italian  Marquis  within  its  doors  as  against 
a  plain,  everyday  American  citizen.  Sara  Bern- 
hardt  selects  the  Richelieu  when  in  the  city;  so 
does  Mrs.  Langtry  when  the  confines  of  her  private 
car  become  too  narrow  for  comfort.  The  Riche- 
lieu is  famous  for  the  rare  pictures  that  adorn  its 
walls,  some  of  which  are  worth  small  fortunes,  and 
also — whisper  this  with  bated  breath,  Oh,  ye  ir- 
reverent ! — for  its  wine  cellars,  which  are  stocked 
with  some  of  the  rarest  and  costliest  vintages  to  be 
found  on  the  entire  continent.  On  state  occasions, 
when  the  Cardinal  is  entertaining  some  choice 
party  of  notables,  he  is  wont  to  disappear  suddenly, 
absent  himself  for  about  fifteen  minutes  and  then 


reappear  with   a  quaint-shaped  bottle   or  two  in 
either  hand  covered  with  cobwebs.     Those  who 


sample  the  contents  of  said  bottles  close  their  eyes, 


28 

pat  their  stomachs  softly  as  the  divine  liquid  glides 
down  their  throats,  and  then  shed  tears  of  joy  and 
gratitude  to  the  Cardinal  for  having  given  them 
the  happiest  moment  of  their  lives.  If  you  are  a 
connoisseur  of  wines  and  wish  to  test  your  art  in 
judgment  thereof,  cultivate  the  acquaintance  of  the 
Cardinal,  and  perhaps  he  will  go  down  into  the 
cellar  for  you. 

Mr.  Warren  Leland,  who  recently  sold  the  hotel 
of  that  name,  always  said  he  had  the  prettiest 
house  in  Chicago,  and  there  are  some  people  who 
agree  with  him.  The  Leland  rates,  on  the  Ameri- 
can plan,  are  from  $3  to  $5  per  day  up  ;  the  Euro- 
pean, $1.50  up.  The  Leland  is  known  as  the 
"home  hotel"  of  Chicago,  and  there  is  a  tradition 
abroad  to  the  effect  that  people  who  once  patron- 
ize it  never  go  elsewhere. 

"Tim  BLOODED JDisTRicr"-—  Before  proceeding 
to  the  consideration  of  other  prominent  hotels,  it 
maybe  interesting  to  inform  the  reader  that  the  dis- 
trict which  we  are  about  to  leave,  and  of  which  the 
three  hostelries  enumerated  form  the  nucleus,  has 
achieved  some  fame  in  the  annals  of  the  town  as 
"the  blooded  'district" — so-called  for  the  reason 
that  the  "high-rolling"  young  men  of  the  city  have 
made  it  a  sort  of  headquarters  or  rendezvous,  both 
before  and  after  the  hours  when  sober-minded  and 
steady-going  folk  are  fast  asleep.  The  Auditorium, 
Richelieu,  and  Leland  Cafes,  together  with 


29 

Devine's  wine-room  on  the  other  side  of  Jackson 
Street,  and  Colonel  John  Harvey's  "  Wayside  Inn  " 
in  the  alley,  form  a  sort  of  circuit  or  beat,  which 
these  "rapid"  young men(i.  e.  the  "bloods")  travel 
at  all  times,  including  such  hours  as  the  sale  of 
cheering  beverages  is  forbidden  by  city  ordinance. 
Of  these,  Harvey's  is  perhaps  the  most  unique  re- 
sort, though  if  one  cannot  find  his  friends  in  one  of 
the  places  named  after  midnight  he  is  tolerably  cer- 
tain to  encounter  them  in  one  of  the  others.  Col- 
onel Harvey  is  the  father  of  the  pert  little  soubrette, 
Hattie  Harvey,  of  whom  the  great  diva,  Patti,  be- 
came so  desperately  enamored  as  to  invite  her  to 
her  castle  in  Wales,  and  admirers  of  the  young 
lady  are  fond  of  dropping  in  to  discuss  her  merits 
with  her  papa,  the  Colonel,  who,  it  goes  without 
saying,  is  the  most  devoted  of  her  admirers.  If 
you  praise  Hattie's  beauty  to  the  Colonel  he  will 
mix  for  you,  with  his  own  hands,  one  of  his  choicest 
drinks;  if  you  swear  on  your  honor  that  she  is  des- 
tined to  become  the  greatest  actress  of  the  century, 
he  will  probably  crack  a  bottle.  The  door  of  Har- 
vey's "Wayside  Inn"  is  tightly  closed  at  mid- 
night, but  the  initiated  may  gain  ready  admittance 
by  learning  the  pass-word  of  the  night  and  roaring 
it,  in  tones  more  or  less  musical,  through  the  key- 
hole. You  can  always  tell  whether  there  is  any 
fun  going  on  in  Harvey's  by  the  galaxy  of  hack 
men  who  stand  in  line  at  the  curb,  waiting  for  the 


"  boys  "  to  emerge  in  the  small  hours  of  the  morn- 
ing1. But  we  may  now  leave  the  "blooded  dis- 
trict" and  take  a  glance  at  other  South  side 
hotels. 

The  venerable  Palmer  House  stands  like  a  bul- 
wark at  the  corner  of  State  and  Monroe  Streets, 
its  vast  expanse  stretching  away  for  half  a  block. 
The  Palmer  enjoys  a  steady  patronage  from  peo- 
ple who  have  been  "putting  up"  there  for  years. 
It  has  a  large  clientele  of  the  better  class  of  com- 
mercial travelers.  The  wits  of  the  town  crack 
jokes  at  the  expense  of  the  Palmer  on  the  score 
of  the  number  of  guests  of  Hebraic  extraction  it 

shelters.     Be  that  as 
it   may,   the   Palmer 
welcomes    all    who 
pay    their  bills   and 
who  patronize 
i  t     generally 
possess   that 
a  dm  ir  able 
qualification. 
The    Palmer's 
rates  are  $3  to 
$5  per  day. 

There  is   a 
little  room  on 
the  sixth  floor 
of  the  Palmer  which  is  an  environ  of  romantic  in- 


terest,  it  having  been  the  scene  of  one  of  the  most 
famous  tragedies  in  Chicago's  history.  In  the 
summer  of  1882,  it  was  occupied  by  Charles  Stiles, 
the  popular  and  high-living  "caller"  of  the  Board 
of  Trade.  Early  one  morning  a  veiled  woman, 
whose  tasteful  but  somber  raiment  revealed  the 
outlines  of  an  entrancing  figure,  took  the  elevator  to 
the  sixth  floor  and  knocked  at  the  door  of  Stiles' 
room.  He  came  out  scantily  clad  in  response  to 
the  summons.  There  was  a  flash,  the  ringing  re- 
port of  a  revolver,  and  in  another  instant  the 
young  man  lay  dead  on  the  floor.  The  woman 
knelt  down,  kissed  his  forehead  and  submitted  to 
arrest  without  a  murmer.  She  was  an  Italian, 
Teresa  Sturlata  by  name,  and  the  mistress  of 
Stiles.  His  previous  abuse  of  her,  as  testified  to 
at  the  trial,  so  influenced  the  jury  in  her  behalf  that 
she  received  but  the  nominal  punishment  of  one 
year  in  the  penitentiary,  though  her  great  beauty 
doubtless  had  some  influence  on  the  leniency  of  the 
sentence.  Many  men  went  daft  over  the  beauti- 
ful murderess.  Some  of  the  letters  that  she  re- 
ceived while  in  jail  were  published,  and  precious 
epistles  they  were,  too.  They  all  contained  pro- 
testations of  affection,  and  several  offers  of  mar- 
riage were  included  among  them.  The  woman 
went  to  the  penitentiary  and  served  her  sentence. 
When  released  she  disappeared  as  completely  as 
though  the  earth  had  swallowed  her.  Her  pres- 


32 

ent  whereabouts  is  unknown,  but  the  room  made 
famous  by  the  great  tragedy  is  still  pointed  out  to 
new  guests  at  the  Palmer. 

The  Grand  Pacific,  on  South  Clark  Street,  kept 
by  Landlord  Drake,  is  of  the  same  class  as  the 
Palmer,  enjoying  a  steady  patronage  all  the  year 
round.  The  rates  are  $3  to  $5  per  day.  The 
Tremont,  kept  by  Mr.  Eden  (Lake  and  Dearborn) 
and  the  Sherman,  kept  by  Mr.  Pierce  ( Clark  and 
Randolph),  are  of  the  same  grade  as  the  Palmer 
and  Grand  Pacific. 

These  comprise  the  list  of  first-class  down-town 
hotels,  though  several  others  are  in  progress  of 
construction,  with  a  view  to  caring  for  the  thou- 
sands of  strangers  who  will  visit  the  World's  Fair. 
Notable  among  these  is  the  Great  Northern,  which, 
under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Eden,  has  just  been 
pushed  to  completion.  It  is  on  Dearborn 
Street  opposite  the  post  office,  between  Jackson 
and  Quincy,  being  situated,  therefore,  in  the  very 
heart  of  the  business  district. 

The  Victoria,  the  new  hotel  on  the  site  of  the 
building  formerly  known  as  the  Beaurivage,  Mich- 
igan Avenue  and  Congress  Street,  is  a  fashiona- 
ble house,  patronized  by  the  best  people.  The 
same  is  true  of  The  Wellington,  corner  of  Jack- 
son Street  and  Wabash  Avenuel 

The  smaller  hotels  are  much  too  numerous  to 
particularize.  They  are  scattered  in  all  directions 


33 

and  their  rates  for  rooms  vary  from  fifty  cents  up- 
ward per  day.  There  is  no  street  in  the  business 
part  of  the  city  without  two  or  three  such  hotels, 
and  the  traveler  must  be  hard  to  please  who  can- 
not suit  himself  at  one  or  another  among  so  many. 
The  residence  part  of  the  city,  particularly  on  the 
North  and  South  sides,  is  thickly  dotted  with  first- 
class  family  hotels,  where  persons  contemplating 
an  extended  stay  may  obtain  quiet  accommoda- 
tion in  the  exact  ratio  for  which  they  care  to  pay. 
The  two  most  magnificent  family  hotels  are  the 
Virginia,  78  Rush  Street,  and  the  Metropole, 
Michigan  Avenue  and  Twenty-third  Street.  These 
two  houses  cannot  be  surpassed  for  style  and  ele- 
gance and  they  are  patronized  exclusively  by  peo 
pie  of  means. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    THEATERS. 

THE  Wayfarer  hav- 
ing- received  some  hints 
as  to  the  quarters  in 
which  he  may  establish 
himself,  one  reaches  the 
much  more  important 
question  of  how  he  shall 
amuse  or  divert  himself 
while  here.  Before  com- 
ing to  the  point  of  the 
more  unique  or.  unusual 
modes  of  diversion  with 
which  the  city  abounds  one's  first  thoughts  natur- 
ally turn  to  the  theaters. 

Chicago  is  famous  as  a  theatrical  center,  and  the 
very  best  attractions  are  constantly  to  be  found  at 
one  or  another  of  the  great  play-houses.  Just  at 
this  stage,  therefore,  it  is  meet  to  utter  a  few  re- 
marks on  the  leading  theaters  and  the  class  of  ex- 
cellent entertainment  they  present  to  their  patrons. 

THE  CHICAGO  OPERA  HOUSE. — This  theater, 
one  of  the  youngest  in  Chicago,  is  perhaps  enti- 
tled to  primary  mention  by  reason  of  its  virtual 


35 

monopoly,  except  at  stated  intervals  of  the  cream 
of  the  citiy's  theatrical  business.  It  has  a  very 
large  seating  capacity;  was  first  opened  about 
seven  years  ago  with  the  tragedian,  Thomas  Keene, 
as  the  attraction.  The  director  of  the  Chicago 
Opera  House,  Mr.  David  Henderson,  has  achieved 
a  wide  popularity,  both  in  and  out  of  the  profes- 
sion, and  is  aided  in  his  efforts  by  a  corps  of  effi- 
cient assistants,  notable  among  who  are  Messrs. 
Thomas  W.  Prior  and  Max  Godenrath.  While 
presenting  to  the  public  attention  first-class  attrac- 
tions all  the  year  around,  the  Chicago  Opera 
House  has  earned  the  major  part  of  its  distinction 
by  the  superb  extravaganzas  it  has  been  producing 
annually.  These  extravaganzas  usually  commence 
in  May  and  run  through  the  summer  months,  thus 
securing  to  the  house  a  steady  patronage  during 
the  "dog-days."  It  is  beyond  all  question  that 
the  first  of  these  spectacles,  the  "Arabian  Nights," 
established  Mr.  Henderson's  reputation  as  a  pur- 
veyor of  this  class  of  entertainment,  (termed  by 
the  irreverent  "leg  shows.")  The  second  produc- 
tion, the  "Crystal  Slipper,"  enhanced  this  reputa- 
tion, and  those  succeeding — "Bluebeard  Jr."  and 
"  Sinbad"— kept  it  going.  This  year  (1892)  the 
summer  spectacle  at  The  Chicago  will  be  "AH  Baba, 
or  the  Forty  Thieves,"  and  if  advance  gossip  is  to  be 
taken  as  evidence,  it  will  transcend  in  magnificence 
anythmg  of  its  kind  that  has  ever  been  produced  un- 


36 

der  Mr.  Henderson's  supervision.  The  libretto  of 
"Ali  Baba"  is  by  Harry  B.  Smith,  the  distinguished 
witandliterateur,  who  has  performed  a  like  service 
for  the  pieces  before  mentioned.  The  Chicago  Opera 
House  is  situated  on  the  South  side  of  Washington 
Street,  between  Clark  and  La  Salle  Streets,  and  is 
invariably  thronged  throughout  the  hot  weather. 
Mr  Henderson  manages  to  group  upon  his  stage 
as  choice  a  galaxy  of  feminine  loveliness  as  is  to  be 
found  in  any  climate,  and  the  costuming  (or  rather 
the  lack  of  it)  is  doubtless  as  gratifying  to  the 
performers  as  it  is  to  the  spectators,  being  con- 
structed on  the  hot  weather  plan;  light  and  airy. 
It  is  no  uncommon  sight  to  see  a  party  of  honest 
country  folks  appearing,  gripsacks  in  hand  at  the 
doors  of  the  Chicago  Opera  House,  having  come 
straight  from  the  train  to  the  theater  to  witness  the 
show,  the  fame  of  which  had  penetrated  to  their 
homes  in  the  country ;  and  which,  after  their  re- 
turn, they  would  rather  die  than  let  their  families 
and  the  church  folks  know  they  had  seen. 

McVicKER's  THEATER. — It  is  situated  on  the 
south  side  of  Madison  Street,  between  State  and 
Dearborn,  and  is  one  of  the  oldest  resorts  of  its 
kind  in  the  city,  though  the  present  structure  is 
quite  new,  having  been  reconstructed  on  the  site 
of  the  old  one,  which  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  the 
spring  of  1891.  The  attractions  at  McVicker's 


37 

are  usually  of  the  solid,  legitimate  order,  though 
the  gray-haired  proprietor  occasionally  is  guilty  of 
a  lapse  to  a  variety  show.  McVicker's,  how- 
ever, is  the  home  of  high-class  drama  and  com- 
edy, and  the  theater  itself  is  perhaps  without  a- 
rival  on  the  continent  in  the  way  of  magnificent 
decorations  and  comfortable  furnishing.  While 
Mr.  McVicker  is  opposed  to  Sunday  performances, 
he  occasionally  permits  them,  which  enables  the 
stranger,  not  infrequently,  to  encounter  a  first-class 
Sunday  night  show  within  a  few  paces  of  his  hotel. 

THE  GRAND  OPERA  HOUSE. — This  admirable 
play-house  is  located  on  the  east  side  of  Clark 
Street,  just  north  of  Washington.  It  is  another 
old-established  theater  enjoying  a  large  patronage. 
The  Grand  is  the  home  of  Hoyt's  farces,  each  of 
these  fanciful  productions  having  been  produced 
successfully  at  Mr.  Hamlin's  temple.  At  the 
Grand,  also  appear  most  of  the  German  compa- 
nies, though  the  latter  will,  it  is  to  be  presumed, 
go  to  the  new  edifice,  Schiller  theater,  Randolph 
Street,  near  Dearborn. 

HOOLEY'S  THEATER. — Located  conveniently  on 
Randolph,  between  Clark  and  La  Salle  Streets,  is 
devoted  to  all  sorts  of  attractions,  and  is  one  of 
the  handsomest  theaters  of  its  size  in  the  country. 
The  patrons  of  Hooley's  may  run  the  gamut  from 
low  comedy  to  grand  opera ;  and  Irish  comedy- 


drama  often  following  immediately  after  one  of  the 
high-class  engagements,  such  as  that  of  the  Mad- 
ison Square  or  Lyceum  Theater  Companies. 

COLUMBIA  THEATER. — In  the  very  heart  of  tne 
business  district,  on  the  south  side  of  Monroe,  be- 


tween Dear 
born  and 
Clark  Streets. 
This  theater  is 
one  of  the  oldest 
in  the  city,  and 
has  passed 
through  many  managements,  being  at  present  under 
the  direction  of  the  Hayman  Bros,  and  Mr.  Will 
J.  Davis,  both  of  whom  are  gentlemen  of  the  highest 
standing  in  the  profession  and  thorougly  competent 
to  cater  to  the  desires  of  an  amusement-loving  pub- 
lic. The  attractions  presented  at  the  Columbia 
are  of  a  wide  range,  the  properties  of  the  house 


39 

being  suited  to  the  production  of  grand  or  light 
opera  more  than  anything  else.  Some  of  the  first 
artists  in  the  world  have  appeared  at  the  Columbia, 
notably,  Henry  Irving  and  Ellen  Terry,  the  latter 
having,  on  one  memorable  night,  formally  christened 
the  theater  which,  prior  to  that  time,  was  known 
as  Haverley's;  Sara  Bernhardt,  Adelina  Patti, 
Christine  Nielsson,  and  others  almost  equally  fa- 
mous. The  seating  capacity  of  the  Columbia  is 
as  large  as  that  of  any  of  the  down-town  theaters 
and  it  possesses  the  advantage  of  large,  comforta- 
ble seats,  very  liberally  spaced,  that  other  mana- 
gers might  do  well  to  emulate. 

THE  "PROVINCIAL"  THEATERS. — The  houses 
mentioned  are  known  as  the  "down-town"  or.high- 
priced  theaters,  the  scale  of  prices  ranging  from 
25  cents  to  $1.50  per  seat.  In  addition  to  these, 
however,  there  are  a  number  of  houses,  some  of 
which  are  equally  large,  scattered  about  in  the 
three  sections  of  the  city,  which  are  known  as  the 
"second  class"  or  "provincial"  theaters,  where 
the  price  of  admission  ranges  from  15  cents  to 
$1.00.  Of  these  may  be  mentioned  the  following : 
South  Side — Alhambra,  State  and  Archer  Ave.; 
Madison  Street  Opera  House,  83  Madison  Street; 
Olympic,  46  South  Clark  Street;  Havlin's,  Wa- 
bash  and  1 9th  Street ;  People's,  339  State  Street. 
North  Side. — Clark  Street  Theater,  Clark  and 


40 

Kinzie  Streets  ;  Criterion,  374  Sedgwick  Street ; 
Windsor,  459  North  Clark  Street.  West  Side.— 
Haymarket,  169  West  Madison  Street;  Lyceum, 
58  South  Desplaines  Street ;  Standard,  167  South 
Halsted  Street ;  Halsted  Street  Theater,  Halsted 
and  West  Congress  Streets. 

The  outside,  or  provincial  theaters  usually  offer 
a  more  sensational  type  of  plays,  specimens  of  the 
wild  and  woolly  border  drama  being  usually  pre- 
sented for  the  edification  of  their  mercurial  patrons. 
The  Park  Theater,  335  State  Street,  ought  not  to 
rank  with  the  other  theaters,  but  is  often  patron- 
ized by  travelers  whose  tastes  lead  them  to  desire 
entertainment  of  the  more  democratic  type.  The 
accessories  of  tobacco  smoke  and  liquid  refresh- 
ment, "which  are  to  be  indulged  in  at  the  Park,  form 
an  attraction  that  they  find  it  impossible  to  resist, 
nor  is  it  difficult  for  a  patron,  whose  pocketbook 
enables  him  to  indulge  in  such  luxuries,  to  obtain 
an  introduction  through  the  influence  of  the  mana- 
ger to  the  more  or  less  fascinating  "fairies,"  who 
go  through  their  performances  on  the  stage.  Fur- 
ther mention  of  the  Park  will  be  made  later. 

THE  DIME  MUSEUMS. — Chicago  is  probably 
more  bountifully  supplied  than  any  other  city  in  the 
Dime  Museum  line.  It  is  not  necessary  to  partic- 
ularize as  to  the  various  houses  of  this  character; 
they  are  scattered  in  all  quarters  of  the  city,  and  in 


41 

them  is  to  be  found  infinite  material  for  entertain- 
ment and  instruction  at  the  modest  admission  fee 
of  10  cents.  The  freaks  of  all  climes  are  to  be 
found  on  exibition  and  most  of  the  museums  throw 
in  a  stage  performance  of  some  some  kind  more  or 
less  meritorious.  A  favorite  plan  of  a  party,  large 
or  small,  desirous  of  a  little  quiet  fun,  is  to  execute 
a  "Dime  Museum  Raid,"  as  it  is  called.  They 
assemble  at  the  hotel  or  other  meeting  place,  and 
start  out  on  a  tour  of  the  various  museums,  visit- 
ing each  in  turn,  with,  of  course,  the  usual  inter- 
mission for  drinks.  The  amount  of  fun  to  be 
obtained  from  such  an  excursion  can  easily  be 
imagined.  Aside  from  the  entertainment  to  be  de- 
rived from  viewing  the  freaks  on  exibition,  it  is  a 
very  easy  matter  to  discover  food  for  mirth  in  the 
freaks  among  the  audience.  There  is  a  happy-go- 
lucky  atmosphere  in  a  Dime  Musenm  which  is  not 
found  elsewhere,  and  the  Dime  Museum  "raiders" 
are  in  the  habit  of  getting  much  more  than  their 
money's  worth ;  but  so  long  as  their  fun  does  not 
end  in  a  fight,  there  need  be  no  cause  for  com- 
plaint. A  thing  that  should  be  looked  into  is  the 
attendance  at  certain  of  these  cheap  shows  of 
young  girls  whose  tender  youth  leads  one  to  mar- 
vel why  their  parents  do  not  manage  to  keep  them 
at  home,  or,  failing  that,  to  box  their  ears  and 
send  them  to  bed  for  their  contumacy.  It  is  not 
the  province  of  the  writer,  however,  to  purify  the 


42 

morals  of  this  great  and  growing  town,  so  let  those 
"kick"  who  will. 

THE  CASINO. — This  resort,  formerly  known  as 
the  Eden  Musee,  is  a  unique  place  of  amusement, 
situated  on  the  west  side  of  Wabash  Avenue  just 
north  of  Jackson  Street.  Its  leading  feature  is  a 
magnificent  wax-work  exhibit,  which  good  judges 
say  almost  equals  the  famous  resort  of  Madame 
Tussaud  in  London.  All  the  famous  characters  in 
history,  past  and  present,  are  reproduced  in  life-like 
manner.  There  is  also  a  "  Chamber  of  Horrors," 
which  may  be  visited  by  those  who  desire  to  feel 
their  flesh  creep.  On  the  top  floor  is  a  roomy 
amphitheater,  in  which  a  good  stage  show  is  al- 
ways in  progress,  and  the  rear  part  of  which  is 
filled  with  neat,  round  tables,  where  the  patrons 
may  indulge  in  light  refreshments  of  various  sorts. 
The  admission  fee  to  the  Casino  is  50  cents,  which 
entitles  the  visitor  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  house 
without  extra  charge. 


CHAPTER    III. 


THE    AUDITORIUM    AND    THE  NEW   GERMAN  THEATER. 

DETAILED  mention 
of  the  magnificent  opera 
house  in  the  Auditorium 
'',-  building  has  been  re- 
served until  now  in  order 
that  it  might  take  its  proper 
place  in  the  description  of 
the  mighty  edifice  which  is 
the  wonder  and  admiration 
of  the  United  States,  and  a 
topic  of  comment  to  some  ex- 
tent in  Europe. 
The  project  of  the  Auditorium,  three  sides  of 
which  face  Wabash  Avenue,  Congress  Street  and 
Michigan  Avenue,  is  said  to  have  emanated  from 
the  brain  of  Mr.  Ferd  W.  Peck,  a  capitalist,  who, 
in  a  speech  to  the  Commercial  Club,  outlined  the 
advantages  that  would  be  likely  to  accrue  to  the 
city  from  the  possession  of  such  a  building.  As 
the  Auditorium  is  one  of  the  sights  of  the  city,  it 
deserves  a  special  description. 

The  Auditorium  Hotel,  mention  of  which  has 
been  made  in  a  previous  chapter,  fronts  on  Michi- 
gan Avenue  and  occupies  the  upper  floor  of  the 


44 

building,  the  colossal  outlines  and  massive  archi- 
tecture of  which,  rivaling  as  they  do  the  ancient 
Coliseum  of  Rome,  strike  the  beholder  dumb  with 
admiration.  The  stock  company  that  constructed 
the  Auditorium  was  formed  at  Mr.  Peck's  sug- 
gestion in  the  spring  of  1886,  and  in  January  of 
the  following  year  work  was  commenced  upon  it. 
Less  than  eighteen  months  afterward  the  building 
had  progressed  to  a  stage  that  made  it  possible  to 
hold  the  National  Convention  of  1888  under  the 
roof  of  the  great  theater.  On  that  occasion  12,- 
000  people  cheered  the  nomination  of  Harrison  as 
the  presidential  candidate.  The  formal  dedication 
of  the  great  structure  took  place  December  9, 
1889.  The  star  of  the  occasion  was  Adelina  Patti, 
the  world-famous  singer,  who,  although  she  had 
dyed  her  hair  a  brilliant  red,  aroused  a  cyclone  of 
enthusiasm  by  her  time-honored  rendition  of 
"Home,  Sweet  Home."  Speeches  were  made  by 
Benjamin  Harrison,  President  of  the  United  States; 
by  DeWitt  C.  Cregier,  then  Mayor  of  Chicago; 
by  Ferd  W.  Peck,  President  of  the  Auditorium 
Company,  and  others.  It  required  an  expendi- 
ture of  nearly  $2,000,000  in  hard  cash  to  erect  the 
Auditorium,  and  the  men  who  invested  their  money 
in  the  project  are  drawing  a  fair  interest  on  the 
amount  of  their  wise  venture.  The  building  has 
a  frontage  of  187  feet  on  Michigan  Avenue,  361  feet 
on  Congress  Street,  and  161  feet  on  Wabash  Ave- 


45 

nue.  The  material  used  is  mostly  American  gran- 
ite from  Maine  and  Minnesota ;  the  ornamentation 
being  largely  in  Mexican  onyx.  To  the  visitor 
who  stands  rapt  in  admiration  at  the  sight  of 
this  superb  edifice,  a  few  figures  may  not  be  unin- 
teresting. The  main  building  is  144  feet  in  height; 
the  tower  on  the  Congress  Street  side,  225  feet, 
with  lateral  dimensions  of  40x71  feet.  The  build- 
ing weighs  in  its  entirety  110,000  tons.  There 
are  17,000,000  brick  in  the  building  and  50,000,- 
000  pieces  of  marble.  The  flooring  is  in  Antique 
Mosaic. 

Now  for  the  theater  itself,  which  is,  after  all,  the 
main  interior  attraction  of  the  Auditorium,  the 
smaller  halls  and  office  suites  which  are  contained 
in  the  main  structure  possessing  only  a  commercial 
interest.  The  theater  has  a  regular  seating  ca- 
pacity of  4,000,  though  when  it  is  arranged  for  a 
convention  or  a  ball  it  will  hold  three  times  that 
number.  The  stage  is  ninety-eight  feet  in  width 
and  6,862  square  feet  in  area.  The  great  lobby 
with  its  massive  pillars  and  porticos,  prepares  the 
visitor  for  the  sublime  magnificence  of  the  im- 
mense audience  chamber.  The  ceiling,  which  is 
decorated  in  white  and  gold,  glitters  with  a  myriad 
of  electric  lamps  and  the  spectacular  effect,  when  the 
house  is  filled  with  a  fashionable  audience,  the  long 
tiers  of  boxes  gleaming  with  the  brilliant  cos- 
tumes and  jewels  of  scores  of  handsome  women, 


46 

surpasses  description.  It  must  be  seen  to  be  ap- 
preciated. The  Auditorium  theater  is  equipped, 
among  other  things,  with  an  organ  that  is  said  to 
be  the  finest  and  most  complete  in  the  world,  pos- 
sessing as  it  does,  7,193  pipes. 

But  without  question  the  tower  is  a  stupendous 
feature  of  the  Auditorium  and  is  most  popular  with 
strangers ;  it  may  be  said  that  no  stranger  should 
leave  the  city  without  visiting  it.  Enter  from  the 
Congress  Street  side  and  purchase  a  ticket  at  the 
box  office,  costing  twenty-five  cents.  The  elevator 
carries  you  up  at  rapid  speed  to  the  top.  The 
final  ascent  is  made  by  a  small  flight  of  iron  stairs 
and  the  tower  is  reached.  The  splendor  of  the 
view  from  this  tower  can  be  imagined  but  not  de- 
scribed. On  a  clear  day  the  Michigan  shore  is 
discernible  far  away  over  the  blue  water  of  the 
lake,  while  on  the  east  side,  north  and  south  the 
eye  may  penetrate  to  the  furthest  limits  of  the  city. 
To  stand  there  and  look  down  on  the  mazes  ol 
buildings  and  the  swarming  thousands  of  your  fel- 
lowmen  produces  a  strange  feeling  of  awe  and 
wonderment.  The  popularity  of  the  tower  with 
sight-seers  may  be  imagined  from  the  fact  that  the 
attendance  brings  in  an  average  of  $120  per  day  to 
the  company  throughout  the  year. 

Preparations  are  now  in  progress  for  the  pres- 
entation at  the  Auditorium  during  the  World's 
Fair  year  of  a  theatrical  spectacle  which  shall 


47 

eclipse  anything  of  the  kind  ever  before  seen  in 
any  country.  The  plans  are  yet  in  embryo,  but  a 
rough  outline  has  been  drawn.  The  production, 
which  is  to  be  historical  in  character,  will  be  under 
the  direction  of  Managers  Adams,  Abbey  and 
Grau.  It  will  open  in  the  spring  of  1893,  and  run 
through  the  World's  Fair  season. 

The  New  German  Theater  on  Randolph 
Street,  between  Dearborn  and  Clark,  deserves 
special  mention  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  it  will 
be  the  youngest  of  all  Chicago  first-class  theaters, 
and  because  great  promises  have  been  made  as 
to  the  magnificence  of  its  furnishings  and  equip- 
ment. The  structure  is  fire-proof,  nine  stories  in 
height  with  a  large  square  tower  fifteen  feet  in  height 
surmounted  by  a  cupola.  The  main  building  fronts 
eigthy-four  feet  on  Randolph  Street  with  a  depth 
of  186^  feet.  There  will  be  a  covered  balcony 
in  front  from  which  street  parades  may  be  advan- 
tageously viewed.  The  cornices,  balustrades  and 
other  parts  of  the  building  are  decorated  with  rich 
carvings.  The  construction  is  of  steel  columns 
and  cross-beams,  the  outer  walls  being  in  terra 
cotta.  The  main  entrance  leading  to  the  theater 
is  thirty-two  feet  wide.  All  the  floors  and  wains- 
coting are  in  polished  marble.  From  the  entrance 
to  the  theater  foyer  will  extend  two  vestibules,  in 
the  inner  one  of  which  the  box  office  is  located. 
Four  passenger  elevators  furnish  access  to  the 


48 

hotel  and  club  rooms  of  which  the  main  portion  of 
the  palatial  structure  will  consist.  Broad  marble 
stairs  lead  from  the  foyer  to  the  main  floor, 
balcony  and  gallery  of  the  theater,  the  Auditorium 
plan  of  seating  the  people  having  been  decided 
upon.  The  theater  will  seat  1,300  people.  The 
stage  has  a  superficial  area  of  3,200  square  feet, 
with  a  proscenium  arch  twenty-nine  feet  wide  and 
thirty  feet  high. 

Seven  stories  of  the  building  are  devoted  to  the 
hotel,  which  also  deserves  a  word  of  description. 
There  are  131  guest  chambers,  39  bath  rooms,  a 
dining  room  76  feet  long  by  49  wide,  and  other 
features.  The  hotel  will  of  course  have  a  separate 
entrance.  Club,  billiard,  card,  and  other  rooms 
occupy  the  tenth  floor.  The  eleventh  is  devoted 
to  a  fine  ball  room,  separate  quarters  being  pro- 
vided for  the  servants  on  the  floors  above. 

The  total  cost  of  this  fine  structure  is  estimated 
at  $000,000,  inclusive  of  the  price  paid  for  the 
ground.  The  building  is  erected  by  a  company  of 
which  the  following  well-known  citizens  are  direct- 
ors: A.  C.  Hesing,  Theodore  Arnold,  Louis 
Wolff,  Edward  Eiblein,  Franz  Amberg,  Charles 
Wacker,  C.  P.  Dose,  Louis  Wampold,  J;  A.  Orb, 
Joseph  Scheurer,  William  Heineman,  George  E. 
Weiss,  John  M.  Krause,  C.  Herman  Plautz,  and 
Theodore  Oehne. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  this  will  be  an  at- 
tractive place  for  strangers  to  visit. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

TWO    UNIQUE    PLAYHOUSES. 

THE  Madison  Street 
Opera  House  and  the  Park 
Theater,  which  were  briefly 
mentioned  in  the  preced- 
ing chapter,  are  two  resorts 
that  may  be  regarded  as 
occupying  a  unique  posi- 
tion in  the  amusement 
roster.  The  Madison 
Street  Opera  House  gives 
two  performances  daily 
and  its  manager,  the  vet- 
eran Colonel  Sam  T.  Jack, 
is  reputed  to  be  coining  money.  The  size  of  the 
audiences  that  fill  Col.  Jack's  theater  twice  a  day 
is  attributable,  possibly,  to  the  fact  that  the  house 
is  devoted  entirely  to  the  presentation  of  burlesque. 
Companies  of  more  or  less  merit  appear  from 
week  to  week,  and  in  order  that  they  may  secure 
a  "  date,"  it  is  necessary  that  they  possess  a  num- 
ber of  shapely  women  in  the  cast.  An  artist  would 
probably  call  the  costumes  of  the  ladies  who  ap- 
pear at  the  Madison  Street  Opera  House  artistic. 


50 

Certain  it  is  that  if  they  were  constructed  on  any 
other  plan  than  that  of  the  present  one  they  could 
not  possibly  convey  a  more  liberal  view  of  "  the 
female  form  divine."  Indeed,  there  was  one  en- 
gagement that  included  the  presentation  of  a  series 
of  classic  tableaux,  in  which  the  complete  suits  of 
skintights  that  the  ladies  wore,  were  if  anything 
more  attractive  than  no  costumes  at  all.  No 
drinks  are  served  in  the  Madison  Street  Theater* 
itself,  but  it  is  situated  over  a  large  saloon  which 
is  easy  of  access  by  means  of  a  staircase  leading 
directly  into  the  parquet.  It  is  needless  to  say,' 
perhaps,  that  the  nature  of  the  spectacular  gems 
to  be  seen  on  the  Madison  Street  Opera  House 
stages  are  strongly  calculated  to  produce  thirst — es- 
pecially in  a  masculine  audience.  Not  very  long  ago 
the  Chicago  Mail  undertook  to  "roast"  the  Madi- 
son Street  Opera  House,  and  to  stigmatize  its 
performances  as  improper.  Mr.  Jack  at  once  sued 
the  paper  for  libel.  If  a  jury  should  have  a  notion 
to  visit  the  theater  it  might  materially  assist  in  the 
rendition  of  a  verdict  in  accordance  with  the  facts. 
The  Park  Theater,  situated  on  State  Street,  in 
the  "Levee,"  or  "Tenderloin"  district,  is  even 
more  democratic.  Drinks  are  sold  and  consumed 
during  the  stage  performance,  and  smoking  is  al- 
lowed. This  is  a  favorite  resort  for  "bloods"  who, 
having  come  to  town  for  fun,  propose  to  see  all 
there  is  in  it.  A  party  of  three  or  four  who  pur- 


chase  a  box  may,   if  they 
choose,  enjoy  the  society 
of  the  actresses 
who     will    visit 
them     between 


acts  and  have  a 
pleasant,  social 
time.  It  is  within  the 
bounds  of  decorum  to 
invite  the  fair  perform- 
ers to  drink,  and  if  an 
acquaintance  so  auspi- 
ciously begun  should  be  carried  to  even  more  agree- 
able lengths,  why,  who  is  going  to  complain  so 
long  as  the  City  authorities  permit  its  open  pro- 
gramme? Not  the  manager,  surely.  He  is  there 
to  see  that  his  guests  have  a  good  time  and  will 
exercise  all  his  efforts  to  the  procurement  of  that 
end. 

There  are  several  wine-rooms  upstairs,  and  in 
these  one  may  enjoy  a  tete-a-tete  and  a  bottle  of 
champagne  with  his  chosen  charmer,  if  his  inclina- 
tions (and  his  pocketbook)  will  permit  him  to  go 
to  that  length.  An  amusing  feature  of  the  regime 
at  the  Park  is  the  system  whereby  the  actresses 


52 

keep  matters  straight  with  "the  house/'  Under 
the  rules,  each  "lady"  is  allowed  a  percentage  on 
the  money  received  for  drinks  that  she  causes  to 
be  purchased.  She  carries  a  memorandum  book 
and  pencil,  and  jots  down  every  cocktail  or  whiskey 
straight  that  her  admirer  (for  the  moment)  may 
purchase.  After  the  "  show,"  when  the  audience 
departs,  she  goes  to  the  bar  and  tallies  up  with  the 
barkeeper.  A  balance  is  struck  at  the  end  of  the 
week  and  the  money  paid  over.  An  idea  of  the 
informality  of  the  performances  at  the  Park  may  be 
gathered  from  the  fact  that  when  James  Owen 
O'Connor  played  there  awhile  ago,  a  lot  of  boys 
went  about  in  the  theater  selling  stale  cats,  cab- 
bages and  other  garden  produce  to  the  audience— 
the  same  to  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  pelting  the 
actor!  Anyone  who  wishes  to  see  a  "tough" 
audience  and  a  "tough"  show  will  find  what  he 
wants  at  the  Park,  which  seems  to  be  entirely 
within  the  idea  of  police  regulation,  nevertheless. 


CHAPTER  V. 


FREE    AND    EASY    SHOWS. 

UNDER  this  caption 
come  the  entertainments  of 
a  more  or  less  unstilted 
character;  that  is  to 
?/say,  entertainments 
that,  while  being  in  no 
wise  disreputable,  are 
nevertheless  arranged 
with  a  view  of  catering 
to  the  tastes  of  people 
of  both  sexes  who  do 
not  care  to  spend  the 
evening  in  the  narrow 
confines  and  the  mat- 
ter-of-fact atmosphere  of  a  regular  theatre. 
The  modern  music  hall,  or  cafe  chantant,  of 
which  there  are  so  many  in  Paris  and  Lon- 
don, has  not  yet  been  duplicated  to  any 
great  extent  in  this  city.  There  are,  however, 
a  few  places  of  the  kind,  widely  separated 
by  distance,  that  resemble  the  "old  country" 
music  hall  in  some  respects.  The  old  beer 
dens  of  noisome  character  that  formed  a  blot 
upon  the  city's  escutcheon  in  earlier  days 


54 

have  quite  disappeared,  and  the  few  music 
halls  that  still  flourish,  besides  being  of  a 
much  more  pretentious  character,  have  in 
their  management  a  much  stronger  claim  to 
toleration.  At  any  of  these  places  an  evening 
may  be  spent  without  serious  prejudice  to  one's 
morals  and  without  contamination  of  any  sort. 
If  the  jokes  are  a  little  ''rocky"  and  the  antics 
of  the  actors  and  actresses  just  a  shade  off 
color  when  viewed  from  the  stand-point  of 
strict  propriety  there  is  no  reason  why  the 
spectator  should  go  home  convulsed  with  a 
sense  of  the  depravity  of  the  city  that  can  suffer 
such  things  to  be.  The  pleasure  of  the  enter- 
tainment at  these  places  is  enhanced  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent,  according  to  the  taste  of 
the  attendant,  by  the  latter's  ability  to  solace 
himself  with  such  liquid  refreshments  as  his 
system  may  crave  during  the  progress  of  the 
show.  He  may  also  smoke  like  a  chimney  if 
he  so  desires. 

The  old  Tivoli  restaurant  and  concert  hall 
on  Dearborn  street,  just  below  Madison,  which 
was  made  famous  by  the  assassination  therein 
of  Jim  Elliott,  the  prize  fighter,  by  Jere  Dunn 
(the  slayer  being  afterward  acquitted  on  the 
ground  of  self-defense),  has  long  since  passed 
into  oblivion  and  on  its  site,  the  scene  of  so 
many  wonderful  revelries,  a  fine  office  building 


55 

now  stands.  When  the  Tivoli  passed  away 
there  was  for  a  long  time  a  dearth  of  music 
halls  in  Chicago.  At  present,  however,  there 
are  at  least  three  resorts  of  the  kind  that  may 
be  mentioned  for  the  enlightenment  of  those 
who  desire  to  investigate  this  class  of  enter- 
tainment. 

Over  on  the  North  Side,  on  the  west  side  of 
Clark  street,  a  few  doors  north  of  Division 
street,  there  is  an  establishment  which  in  some 
respects  is  unique.  It  is  reached  either  by 
the  North  side  cable  cars  or  by  hansom  cab, 
the  fare  for  the  latter  being  fifty  cents  for  each 
person.  This  resort  is  known  as  Engel's,  and 
for  several  seasons  past  it  has  been  the  favor- 
ite with  the  blooded  youth  of  the  North  side  as 
well  as  of  a  large  clientele  of  chance  visitors.  It 
was  formerly  kept  by  a  man  named  Matthai 
and  adjoining  it  was  a  smaller  resort  kept  by  a 
Monsieur  Andre.  Andre  is  now  dead  and  his 
place  closed.  On  the  site  of  Mr.  Matthai's 
triumphs  Mr.  Engel  now  lives  and  flourishes. 

Enter  Engel's  at  any  time  between  eight 
and  nine  in  the  evening,  after  having  paid  the 
modest  admission  fee  of  ten  cents,  and  you  will 
find  the  large  hall,  with  its  imposing  array  of 
polished  tables  and  rows  of  seats,  rather  sparsely 
filled.  The  early  part  of  the  performance  con- 
sists of  a  series  of  musical  numbers  rendered 


56 

by  the  orchestra,  the  members  of  which  now 
and  then  take  a  lay-off  for  drinks.  By  10  o'clock, 
however,  there  is  a  perceptible  increase  in  the 
attendance  and  the  white-aproned  waiters  are 
kept  busy  rushing  to  and  fro  supplying  the 
wants  of  thirsty  customers.  The  visitor,  mean- 
while, has  been  supplied  with  a  printed  pro- 
gramme which  tells  him  what  artists,  ladies  or 
gentlemen,  are  to  appear  that  evening,  and  the 
manner  in  which  they  will  endeavor  to  amuse 
the  auditors.  The  curtain  rises  and  a  pert 
soubrette  with  a  very  gaudy  complexion  and 
abbreviated  skirts  trips  to  the  foot-lights  and 
sings  a  song  of  true  love  or  something  else 
equally  interesting.  She  may  awaken  a  hurri- 
cane of  applause  and  then  again  she  may  not. 
The  stars  of  the  troupe  are  usually  reserved  for 
the  latter  part  of  the  programme.  Meanwhile 
more  drinks  are  ordered  by  everybody  and  by 
1 1  o'clock  a  general  spirit  of  hilarity  prevails, 
which  is  testified  to  by  the  added  enthusiasm 
with  which  the  advancing  and  retiring  favorites 
are  greeted.  The  last  hour  of  the  entertainment, 
between  11  and  12  o'clock,  is  usually  devoted  to 
a  more  ambitious  effort  of  some  kind.  It  may 
be  an  opera  in  one  act,  a  burlesque  of  the  cur- 
rent follies  of  the  day,  or  anything  else  that  will 
give  an  opportunity  for  the  singing  of  "catchy" 
songs,  the  execution  of  intricate  dances  and, 


57 

above  and  beyond  all,  the  lavish  display  of 
feminine  charms.  It  is  a  pleasant  custom  of 
the  place  for  young  men  of  means,  possessed 
of  more  money  than  sense,  to  purchase  bou- 
quets, which  are  carried  up  and  down  the 
aisles  on  trays  by  attractive  flower  girls,  and 
cast  the  same  upon  the  stage  at  their  especial 
favorites.  When  a  more  than  usually  attract- 
ive damsel  sings  an  unusually  taking  song 
the  boards  upon  which  she  treads  are  often 
fairly  deluged  with  flowers,  and  the  degree  of 
grace  with  which  she  stoops  to  pick  them  up 
enhances  in  just  that  ratio  the  warmth  of  the 
plaudits  which  she  receives.  It  is  perhaps  un- 
necessary to  say  that  during  this  latter  part  of 
the  show  the  added  attractions  of  the  spectacle 
presented,  together  with  the  concentrated  en- 
thusiasm of  the  performers,  all  grouped  on  the 
stage  at  once,  increases  the  general  demand  for 
refreshments.  The  waiters  are  fairly  scurrying, 
hither  and  thither  and  the  consumption  of 
stimulating  beverages  is  something  enormous. 
During  all  this  "Papa"  Engel,  as  he  is  affec- 
tionately termed  by  his  coterie  of  more  youthful 
patrons,  looks  on  with  a  bland  and  satisfied 
smile,  noting  with  evident  enjoyment  the  merry 
spirits  of  his  guests  and  the  rapidity  with  which 
they  are  enriching  his  coffers. 

The  ground  floor   of  Engel's   is  exclusively 


58 

devoted  to  the  sterner  sex.  No  ladies  are  al- 
lowed are  that  floor;  up  above,  however,  a 
roomy  balcony  runs  around  the  hall  and  lady 
patrons  of  all  ages  and  grades  of  attractiveness 
sit  at  the  tables  with  their  escorts  and  enjoy 
the  entertainment  with  the  rest.  No  gentle- 
man is  allowed  in  the  balcony  unaccompanied 
by  a  lady  and  no  lady  can  enter  it  unescorted. 
The  popping  of  corks  and  the  sparkle  of  cham- 
pagne are  perpetual  adjuncts  to  this  part  of  the 
house  and  the  balcony  itself,  it  is  safe  to  say, 
forms  no  inconsiderable  part  of  Mr.  Engel's 
gold  mine.  Nobody  who  does  not  wish  to  buy 
anything,  however,  is  ever  requested  to  do  so, 
the  ten  cents  admission  fee  entitling  the  visitor 
to  every  privilege  of  the  house.  Occasionally, 
it  is  true,  a  bit  of  disorder  may  break  out, 
caused  by  some  indiscreet  visitor  imbibing 
not  wisely  but  too  well,  but  it  is  very  speedily 
•squelched  and  there  is  no  case  on  record  where 
a  person  guilty  of  causing  disorder  in  Engel's 
ever  repeated  the  offense. 

Another  feature  of  Engel's,  and  many  people 
find  it  an  agreeable  one,  is  the  stage  boxes. 
These  boxes  are  located  above  the  stage  and 
behind  the  curtain,  being  arranged  in  such  a 
way  that  persons  seated  therein  may  view  all 
that  is  going  forward  on  the  stage  itself  and 
still  remain  invisible  to  the  audience.  With 


59 

• 

prominent  citizens,  or  other  people  who  like  to 
keep  their  attendance  at  the  music  hall  a  secret, 
this  is  an  advantage  not  to  be  denied.  Occu- 
pants of  stage  boxes,  far  from  being  denied  the 
privileges  of  quenching  their  thirst,  are  granted 
every  facility  for  so  doing.  There  is  a  neat 
table  in  the  rear  of  the  box  and  an  obsequious 
waiter  stands  steadily  at  the  door  ready  to  min- 
ister to  the  wants  of  patrons.  It  is  quite  per- 
missible, if  the  occupant  of  a  stage  box  desires, 
to  send  the  waiter  around  behind  the  scenes  to 
inquire  whether  this  or  that  fair  actress  will  not 
deign  to  imbibe  something  at  your  expense,  an 
attention  which  she  duly  acknowledges  by 
stepping  daintily  up  beneath  the  box  and,  as 
she  quaffs  the  soothing  beverage,  nodding  her 
thanks  to  the  donor.  A  spirit  of  good  nature 
prevails  throughout  the  entire  performance  and 
when  it  is  all  over  nobody  has  been  hurt  very 
much  by  his  contact  with  this  strange  element 
of  life  in  a  great  city. 

There  is  another  feature  of  Engel's  which 
merits  a  word  or  two  of  mention,  Promptly  at 
12  o'clock,  in  obedience  to  the  mandate  of  the 
city  fathers,  the  front  doors  of  the  place  are 
closed  as  tight  as  a  drum.  Adjoining  the  bar, 
however,  is  a  commodious  cafe  where  parties  of 
friends,  from  two  to  ten  in  number,  may  sit 
down  and  enjoy  any  sort  of  a  repast  that  their 


6o 

appetites  may  crave,  with  all  the  liquid  access- 
ories thrown  in.  You,  young  man,  who  may 
have  become  interested  in  an  especially  charm- 
ing member  of  Mr.  Engel's  corps  de  ballet,  may, 
if  you  stay  in  this  cafe  long  enough,  possibly  be 
rewarded  by  a  sight  of  your  charmer  for  a  mo- 
ment, emerging  from  behind  the  scenes  in  her 
street  clothes  after  the  performance.  You  are 
tolerably  safe  from  giving  her  offense  if  you  offer 
her  refreshment  at  your  expense,  though  if  it 


happens  that  she  is  accompanied  by  a  stalwart 
cavalier  who  appears  to  exert  a  proprietory  in- 
fluence over  her,  it  is  just  as  well  to  reserve 
your  attention  for  some  more  appropriate  sea- 
son. Some  of  Mr.  Engel's  coryphees  take 
supper  regularly  every  night  in  his  cafe,  the 
costs  of  such  meals  presumably  being  charged 
against  their  salary,  unless  some  outside  devotee 
at  their  various  shrines  should  feel  an  inclina- 
tion to  pay  the  bills.  Mr.  Engel  himself,  ani- 
mated by  we  know  not  what  generous  impulse, 


6i 

has  been  known  to  sit  at  the  head  of  a  long 
table,  around  which  were  grouped  a  dozen  or  so 
of  the  lady  members  of  his  troupe,  and  cheer- 
fully invite  them  to  eat  or  drink  their  fill  at  his 
expense.  Some  wag,  who  noticed  this  specta- 
cle on  one  occasion,  made  an  observation  to  the 
effect  that  Mr.  Engel  seemed  to  be  having  a 
good  time  with  his  harem,  and  for  that  reason, 
possibly,  it  has  been  customary  among  the  flip- 
pant and  irreverent  young  men  who  frequent 
the  place  to  jocosely  refer  to  it  over  their  wine 
as  "Engel's  harem." 

All  in  all,  it  is  not  such  a  bad  sort  of  place  to 
visit,  especially  if  the  visitor  is  desirous  of  see- 
ing something  a  little  unusual  in  a  place  where 
he  will  not  be  bothered  by  a  demand  for  a  too 
strict  observance  of  the  proprieties.  In  any 
event  it  is  a  good  place  to  go  if  you  happen  to 
be  in  that  p#rt  of  the  town  after  midnight  and 
are  possessed  of  a  thirst  of  the  sort  that  only 
some  of  the  choice  alcoholic  liquids  dispensed 
by  Mr.  Engel  and  his  aids  can  quench. 

On  the  South  side  are  two  well-patronized  re- 
sorts that,  while  resembling  Engel's  in  some  re- 
spects, differ  from  it  in  others.  Baum's  Pavil- 
ion, situated  at  the  point  where  226.  street  and 
Cottage  Grove  and  Indiana  avenues  merge 
together  in  a  sort  of  triangle,  has  been  famous 
for  many  years  as  a  concert  hall,  cafe  and  dance 


62 

house.  It  is  a  large  structure  of  two  stories 
and  adjoining  the  building  is  an  open  air  ex- 
panse or  beer  garden,  dotted  with  trees,  which 
is  always  crowded  on  summer  nights.  The 
pavilion  is  reached  from  three  sides;  the  main 
door  faces  north  and  entrance  can  be  had 
either  through  the  beer  garden  on  Cottage 
Grove  avenue  or  through  the  restaurant  on  In- 
diana avenue.  The  style  of  entertainment  pre- 
sented at  Baum's  varies  from  week  to  week. 
Sometimes  it  is  a  first-class  variety  show,  at 
other  times  Mr.  Baum  grows  more  ambitious 
and  puts  on  a  full-fledged  comic  opera  troupe 
as  an  additional  divertisement.  The  admission 
fee  is  25  cents  and  the  visitor  may  select  his 
seat  according  to  his  fancy.  If  it  is  the  sum- 
mer season  (that  is  when  Baum's  pavilion  is 
best  patronized)  the  open  air  garden  is  only 
separated  from  the  hall  where  the,  opera  is  in 
progress  by  open  arches,  and  one  may  sit  at  his 
table  and  smoke  and  drink  with  nothing  but  the 
blue  vault  of  heaven  for  a  roof  and  at  the  same 
time  have  wafted  to  his  ears  the  exhilarating 
music  from  the  stage  within. 

While  the  stage  show  is,  of  course,  the  prin- 
cipal feature  of  Baum's  and  the  one  from  which 
the  establishment  draws  its  steady  patronage, 
the  dances  that  are  given  there  usually  every 
Saturday  and  Sunday  night,  at  the  nominal  ad- 


63 

mission  fee  of  fifty  cents  per  couple,  are  always 
numerously  attended.  In  the  winter  season, 
when  the  garden  is  too  frosty  to  be  agreeable 
and  is  closed  up  in  consequence,  the  dances  are 
held  in  the  hall  above  the  saloon;  but  in  the 
radiant  summer,  when  dancing  is  at  best  a 
fatiguing  pleasure,  they  take  place  on  the  ground 
floor.  Between  the  dances  the  revelers  may 
adjoin  to  the  open  air  and  partake  of  whatever 
refreshments  their  hearts  and  souls  most  desire. 
It  is  a  "free  and  easy"  spot  but,  as  in  all  other 
places  of  the  kind,  the  best  of  order  is  always 
maintained,  the  least  semblance  of  unruly  con- 
duct being  sternly  checked  by  the  management. 
Any  one  who  violates  a  second  time  the  system 
of  etiquette  that  governs  the  place  is  promptly 
pitched  into  the  street  and  never  again  admitted 
to  the  hallowed  precincts  unless  he  manages  to 
conceal  'his  identity. 

The  crowd  that  attend  the  summer  night 
dances  afford  excellent  opportunity  forstudyjall 
classes  of  men  and  women  are  represented  there. 
The  well-to-do  club  man  who  stays  at  a  distance 
and  sips  his  lemonade  in  peace  and  quiet  is  con- 
tent to  find  his  share  of  amusement  in  watching 
the  antics  of  the  throng;  the  hard-working  and 
respectable  mechanic,  who  works  his  best  at  his 
trade  for  six  days  in  the  week,  is  evidently  en- 
joying the  bit  of  recreation  that  is  yielded  to  him 


64 

there.  Scattered  in  the  crowd  are  salesmen, 
barbers,  bookmakers,  bakers,  butchers  and 
almost  every  other  type  of  the  young  manhood 
of  the  day.  Perhaps  there  may  be  a  few  con- 
fidence men,  bunco  steerers,  and  types  of  even 
more  dangerous  classes,  but  they  are  not  to  be 
feared.  They  are  there  for  recreation,  not  for 
business;  for  they  know  very  well  that  if  they 
made  the  slightest  effort  to  ply  their  call- 
ing in  that  place  they  would  be  promptly 
spotted  and  handed  over  to  the  authorities. 
As  to  the  feminine  portion  of  the  assemblage, 
one  is  at  a  loss  to  convey  an  adequate  idea  of  it 
in  an  off-hand  description;  it  varies  with  the 
seasons  and  the  weather.  As  a  general  thing, 
however,  you  will  see  there  from  fifty  to  two 
hundred  girls  and  women,  some  of  them  the 
wives  and  sisters  of  the  mechanics  and  trades- 
men above  mentioned,  who,  like  their  male 
relatives,  are  out  for  a  good  time,  but  the  ma- 
jority are  young  girls  of  quite  independent 
standing — servant  girls,  saleswomen  and  others, 
many  of  them  strangers  in  the  city,  perhaps, 
possessed  of  no  sterner  guardians  than  their 
own  consciences,  and  are  pleased  to  select  what- 
ever means  may  suit  them  best  to  pass  their 
spare  time.  They  see  no  reason  why  they 
should  not  spend  at  leastone  evening  in  a  little 
uproarious  festivity.  When  the  dance  is  at  its 


65 

height  and  the  enthusiasm  of  the  dancers  roused 
to  its  highest  pitch  the  visitor  invariably  re- 
ceives the  worth  of  his  money.  It  does  him 
good  to  see  so  many  people  enjoying  themselves, 
and  there  is  very  little  doubt  that  if  he  is  of 
fairly  presentable  appearance  and  sufficiently 
discreet  to  work  the  matter  rightly  he  may 
without  much  difficulty  obtain  a  partner  for  him 
self  and  join  in  the  general  melee  of  ecstatic  en- 
joyment. As  a  general  thing  the  festivity  winds 
up  about  midnight,  but  if  a  few  select  parties 
desire  to  remain  a  little  longer  no  very  serious 
objection  is  likely  to  be  made.  A  very  agreeable 
evening  may  be  passed  in  this  place  and  the 
fact  that  the  pavilion  has  remained  where  it 
now  stands  for  more  years  than  one  cares  to 
count  without  any  serious  protest  from  the  aris- 
tocratic residents  of  this  neighborhood,  speaks 
well  for  the  order  with  which  it  is  conducted. 

On  the  east  side  of  3ist  street,  between 
Rhodes  and  Vernon  avenues,  there  is  a  much 
more  pretentious  concert  and  dance  hall  than 
either  of  those  previously  mentioned.  It,  also, 
is  the  enterprise  of  the  same  Mr.  Baum  who 
runs  the  22nd  street  place.  It  is  a  much  more 
imposing  structure,  having  a  stone  front  and  a 
wide  entrance  brilliantly  lighted  by  electricity. 
An  admission  fee  of  ten  cents  is  charged  and 
the  great  hall  at  the  rear,  in  which  the  stage 


66 

performance  takes  place,  will  accommodate 
nearly  one  thousand  people.  Much  the  same 
class  of  entertainments  as  those  to  be  witnessed 
at  Engel's  are  presented  here,  with  the  differ- 
ence, however,  that  there  are  no  stage  boxes, 
no  balcony  for  ladies  and  no  means,  so  far  as 
one  may  ascertain,  of  making  acquaintances 
among  the  performers.  Occasionally  some 
singers  of  higher  merit  procure  engagements  at 
this  place  and  the  quality  of  the  music  that 
they  contribute  to  the  entertainment  is  not  im- 
proved upon  in  many  of  the  down-town  theatres. 
Half  of  the  hall,  the  east  side,  is  reserved  for 
ladies  escorted  by  gentlemen;  the  other  half  is 
for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  male  patrons.  Re- 
freshments of  all  sorts  are  served  all  through 
the  evening  at  the  polished  round  tables,  thus 
enabling  the  visitor  to  satisfy  his  hunger,  as 
well  as  his  thirst,  with  any  sort  of  a  meal  during 
the  progress  of  the  performance. 

On  the  second  floor  is  a  ball-room  of  impos- 
ing dimensions  and  magnificent  furnishings.  On 
off  nights  it  is  rented  out  to  various  societies 
for  their  dances,  but  on  very  frequent  occasions 
the  proprietor  advertises  a  ball  that  is  invaria- 
bly attended  by  the  youth  and  beauty  of  the 
middle  classes  residing  in  the  neighborhood. 
As  is  the  case  at  all  places  where  liquor  is  in- 
discriminately dispensed,  a  pleasant  feeling  of 


6; 

informality,  not  to  say  hilarity,  prevails;  the 
chance  visitor,  who  may  nearly  always  procure 
admission  for  himself  and  his  fair  companion, 
if  he  has  one,  by  the  payment  of  the  stipulated 
fee,  may  be  certain  of  passing  a  pleasant  time. 

There  is  a  place  on  the  West  side,  near  the 
Ashland  club,  575  Washington  boulevard,  which 
is  for  that  reason  known  as  the  Ashland  Club 
Annex.  There  is  no  especial  reason  for  men- 
tioning it  save  that  the  weary  way-farer,  if  he 
happens  to  learn  the  pass-word  for  the  night, 
may  enter  at  almost  any  hour  and  secure  hilar- 
ious enjoyment.  The  place  nearly  always  con- 
tains a  rollicking  crowd  of  young  men  who  are 
up  to  any  and  every  sort  of  mischief,  and  man- 
age by  their  antics  to  create  unlimited  amuse- 
ment for  any  strangers  who  choose  to  happen 
in.  As  a  rule  the  "pass-word,"  if  it  may  be  so 
called,  consists  in  a  series  of  variegated  taps  on 
the  window  with  the  end  of  a  lead  pencil,  their 
number  and  regularity  signifying  to  those  inside 
whether  the  applicant  is  to  be  trusted  or  not. 
This  precaution  is  considered  necessary  on  ac- 
count of  the  fondness  of  the  West  side  police- 
men for  descending  upon  such  places  entirely 
without  notice  and  carting  off  all  the  inmates  to 
the  station  on  a  wholesale  charge  of  disorderly 
conduct,  which  disorderly  conduct  consists  in 
their  frequenting  such  a  place  after  lawful  hours. 


68 

It  has  been  a  long  time,  however,  since  such  a 
raid  was  made. 

The  Lyceum  theatre,  while  perhaps  not  de- 
serving of  the  title  of  a  free  and  easy  resort,  is, 
nevertheless,  a  place  where  variety  shows  of  a 
broad  description  are  to  be  seen  at  any  time. 
The  Olympic,  on  South  Clark  street,  opposite 
the  Sherman  House,  is  another  resort  of  the 
same  calibre.  There  is  an  afternoon  show  at  the 
Olympic  every  day  in  the  week,  and  as  a  rule  it 
attracts  good  audiences.  The  rates  of  admis- 
sion at  both  of  these  places  are  very  low,  and, 
considering  that  fact,  the  entertainments  offered 
are  in  every  way  satisfactory. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CHURCHES  AND  CHURCH  SERVICES. 

f  WITH  a  large  portion  of 

the  people  who  remain  in 
Chicago  over  Sunday  the 
desire  to  attend  some  sort 
of  divine  service,  as  well  as 
to  see  some  of  the  princi- 
pal edifices  devoted  to  relig- 
ion, is  the  first  thought 
on  awakening.  The  finest 
churches  are  located  at  a 
distance  from  the  business  centre.  Before 
the  fire  there  were  a  number  of  churches  in 
the  heart  of  the  down-town  district,  but  when 
they  were  once  destroyed  they  were  never 
rebuilt  and  it  is  along  the  residence  streets 
that  the  handsomest  structures  may  be  seen. 
The  transient  population  is  cared  for,  how- 
ever, by  clergymen  who  hold  services  in  cer- 
tain of  the  theatres  Sunday  mornings — of 
whose  work  more  anon. 

The  churches  of  Chicago  represent  every 
Christian  denomination,  there  being  nearly  500 
places  of  worship  the  total  Sabbath  attendance 
at  which  is  estimated  at  120,000.  Among  these 


are  many  splendid  specimens  of  architecture, 
but  the  two  great  Catholic  edifices,  the  Church 
of  the  Holy  Family,  corner  of  May  and  West 
Twelfth  streets,  and  the  Holy  Name  cathedral, 
corner  of  North  State  and  Superior  streets — are 
the  most  imposing  from  an  architectural  stand- 
point. Other  noteworthy  churches  are  the 
Cathedral  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  Grace  and 
Trinity  (Episcopal), Immanuel  (Baptist),  Second 
Presbyterian,  Plymouth  and  New  England 
(Congregational),  St.  Paul's  (Universalist),  Cen- 
tenary (Methodist),  Unity  and  the  Church  of  the 
Messiah  (Unitarian). 

There  are  some  very  eloquent  preachers  in 
Chicago  and  a  visitor  who  does  not  attend  a 
church  solely  for 'the  purpose  of  getting  inside 
of  it  and  seeking  forgiveness  for  his  sins  may 
enjoy  a  very  profitable  hour  in  listening  to  an 
admirable  sermon  in  any  quarter  of  the  city  he 
may  choose  to  select.  There  are  several 
clergymen  in  Chicago  who  receive  $6,000  to 
$8,000  per  year,  and  at  least  three  whose  sal- 
aries, it  is  said,  are  $10,000. 

The  principal  churches  of  the  West  side  are 
located  for  the  most  part  along  Washington 
and  Ashland  boulevards,  and  there  is  a  cluster  . 
of  them  in  the  vicinity  of  Jefferson  and  Union 
parks — small  breathing-places  a  couple  of  miles 
from  the  business  centre.  The  church  district 


71 

of  the  North  side  is  between  Clark  and  Dear- 
born streets  and  north  of  Ontario.  On  the 
South  side  the  principal  religious  edifices  are 
east  of  State  street  and  south  of  Twenty-second, 
the  buildings  growing  finer,  as  a  rule,  the  fur- 
ther south  one  goes.  There  are  several  very 
fine  churches  in' the  recently-annexed  suburb  of 
Hyde  Park  if  one  cares  to  travel  that  distance. 
It  is  a  peaceful  feeling,  if  nothing  else,  to  find 
oneself  within  sacred  walls  on  a  bright  Sabbath 
morning,  and  if  it  is  merely  for  sight-seeing 
that  you  find  yourself  there — which  it  is  to  be 
hoped  is  not  the  case — you  will  not  be  dis- 
appointed. If  there  are  ladies  in  your  party 
they  will  be  on  the  lookout,  as  ladies  always 
are,  for  fine  clothes  Vorn  by  other  ladies,  and  if 
so,  why  it  is  very  certain  they  will  not  be  dis- 
appointed. Some  of  the  South  side  congrega- 
tions are  very  wealthy.  In  some  of  them  a  dozen 
of  the  male  worshipers  could  raise  between 
them  enough  ready  money  to  buy  up  several 
adjacent  blocks — say  a  million  dollars  apiece— 
which,  considering  that,  according  to  Holy  Writ, 
"It  is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through  the  eye  of 
a  needle  than  for  a  rich  man  to  be  saved,"  or 
words  to  that  effect,  makes  the  spiritual  out- 
look for  these  wealthy  gentlemen  a  poor  one. 
However,  it  is  always  interesting  to  watch  how 
rich  men  behave  themselves  in  church  and  one 


72 

of  the  ushers  will  not  be  likely  to  refuse  to  point 
out  to  you  a  devout  millionaire  or  two  if  you 
ask  him  to  do  so. 

Speaking  of  high  salaried  preachers  (though 
the  highest-salaried  are  not  always  the  most 
popular)  suggests  the  mention  of  a  few  of 
the  most  celebrated  divines  of  the  city:  Rev. 
S.  J.  McPherson,  pastor  of  the  Second  Pres- 
byterian church,  Michigan  avenue  and  Twen- 
tieth street,  always  preaches  to  a  full  church. 
Dr.  McPherson  is  not  a  poor  man  himself, 
having  been  bequeathed  a  little  fortune  by  the 
late  John  Crerar.  Then,  too,  he  has  a  large 
income  for  wedding  fees,  for  he  has  such  a 
charming  manner  in  performing  the  ceremony 
that  he  is  in  great  request  with  prospective  brides. 
Dr.  Gunsaulus,  pastor  of  Plymouth  Congrega- 
tional church,  is  also  very  popular.  For  a  time 
he  conducted  Sunday  evening  services  at  Cen- 
tral Music  Hall,  State  and  Randolph  streets, 
but  abandoned  that  field  to  the  Rev.  Fla- 
vius  J.  Brobst,  who  in  turn  retired.  The  famous 
Jewish  pastor  of  the  city  is  Rabbi  Emil  G. 
Hirsch,  of  Sinai  congregation,  Indiana  avenue 
and  Twenty-first  street,  who  is  also  a  writer  of 
some  renown.  Many  Christians  attend  this 
church  for  the  sake  of  the  Rabbi's  eloquent  ser- 
mons,which  are  liberal  and  large-hearted  enough 
to  suit  all  denominations.  A  preacher  of  the  good 


73 

old,  stern,  denunciatory  stripe  is  Dr.  Poindexter 
S.  Henson,  of  the  First  Baptist  church,  corner 
of  South  Park  avenue  and  Thirty-first  street. 
Dr.  Henson's  sermons  are  pitched  very  fre- 
quently in  a  topical  key.  He  would  just  as 
soon  discuss  politics  as  the  Bible  from  his  pul- 
pit, and  whenever  the  city  administration  stands 
in  need  of  a  little  "roasting"  the  Rev.  Poindexter 
is  tolerably  certain  to  supply  the  need.  By 
reason  of  these  sermons  the  Rev.  Poin- 
dexter succeeds  in  getting  himself  into  the  news- 
papers about  as  often  as  any  divine  in  town, 
and  it  is  quite  safe  to  say  that  the  stranger  who 
selects  his  church  as  the  one  to  visit  will  not 
regret  the  selection.  For  those  who  admire  a 
high  church  service  the  Episcopal  cathedral, 
at  the  corner  of  Washington  boulevard  and 
Peoria  street,  will  be  found  to  answer  all  re- 
quirements; the  Right  Reverend  Bishop  Mc- 
Laren is  the  pastor.  Dr.  Clinton  Locke  pre- 
sides over  Grace  Episcopal  church,  1445  Wa. 
bash  avenue,  with  dignity  and  grace,  and 
Bishop  Cheney  fills  the  pulpit  of  Christ's  Epis- 
copal church,  Michigan  avenue  and  Twenty- 
fourth  street.  The  Rev.  J.  P.  Brushingham,  a 
clergyman  whose  record  was  once  marked  by  a 
particularly  stormy  series  of  events,  draws  good 
congregations  to  the  Ada  Street  Methodist 
church.  Dr.  William  Fawcett,  another  elo- 


74 

quent  Methodist  divine,  preaches  at  Park  Ave- 
nue church,  on  Park  avenue,  at  the  intersection 
of  Robey  street.  Rev.  Frank  Bristol,  pastor 
of  Trinity  Methodist  church,  Indiana  avenue 
and  Twenty-fourth  street,  is  noted  for  his  great 
store  of  learning  as  well  as  his  flood  of  elo- 
quence, and  so  is  Dr.  N.  T.  Meloy,  pastor  of 
the  First  United  Presbyterian  church,  Monroe 
and  Paulina  streets.  Rev.  M.  Woolsey  Stryker 
holds  forth  at  the  Fourth  Presbyterian  church, 
corner  Rush  and  Superior  streets,  and  the  very 
aristocratic  congregation  of  St.  James',  corner 
of  Cass  and  Superior  streets,  is  presided  over 
by  Dr.  Tompkins. 

The  clergymen  above  mentioned  are  among 
the  most  famous  in  the  city,  but  there  are 
many  others  almost  equally  prominent.  The 
wayfarer,  however,  will  be  interested  in  learn- 
ing of  the  popularity  of  the  services  at  "Central" 
church  and  the  People's  church,  conducted  at 
Central  Music  Hall  and  McVicker's  theatre 
respectively  by  Prof.  David  Swing  and  Dr.  H. 
W.  Thomas.  Both  these  gentlemen  pos- 
sessed large  followings  when  their  congregations 
were  formed.  Prof.  Swing  is  one  of  the  lead- 
ing personalities  of  the  religious  life  of  the  city. 
He  is  a  man  of  exceedingly  plain  exterior  but 
his  sermons  are  sound  and  forcible.  It  would 
be  difficult  to  analyze  his  creed  or  that  of  the 


75 

people  who  go  to  hear  him.  Central  Music 
Hall  is  filled  every  Sunday  morning  with  a 
large  gathering  of  well-to-do  people  whose 
religious  ideas  could  not,  perhaps,  be  very  ac- 
curately defined,  but  who  would  not  go  any- 


where else  under  any  inducement.  There  is 
also  a  large  sprinkling  of  outsiders.  The  man- 
ner in  which  Prof.  Swing's  followers  appre 
ciate  his  ministrations  in  their  behalf  is  evidenced 
by  their  paying  him  a  salary  ample  enough  to 
enable  him  to  build  a  palatial  summer  home  at 


76 

Lake  Geneva,  a  near-by  hot  weather  resort 
whose  grassy  banks  are  lined  with  the  villas  of 
Chicago  millionaires.  Dr.  Thomas  is  a  little 
more  orthodox  in  his  tenets,  perhaps,  but  his 
services  are  no  less  popular  than  Prof. 
Swing's.  At  both  of  these  temples  of  worship, 
operated,  as  they  are,  in  places  devoted  through- 
out the  week  to  public  amusement,  chance  visi- 
tors are  made  heartily  welcome  and  many 
strangers  who  would  not  inconvenience  them- 
selves to  ride  out  to  one  of  the  orthodox 
churches  take  advantage  of  the  nearness  of 
these  two  to  their  hotels  and  drop  in  on  Sun- 
day morning  for  an  hour  or  so  of  spiritual 
enlightenment. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

PANORAMAS    AND    IJBBY    PRISON. 

THE  panoramas  of 
Chicago  have  become 
justly  celebrated.  They 
are  patterned  after  the 
famous  panoramas  of 
Europe,  being  contain- 
ed in  huge  circular 
buildings.  There  are 
at  present  three  pano- 
ramas— the  Battle  of 
Gettysburg  and  the 
Falls  of  Niagara,  on 
Panorama  Place,  a  mile  south  of  Madison  street 
on  Wabash  avenue,  and  Chicago  on  Fire — the 
latter  being  a  splendid  representation  of  Chicago 
as  it  looked  at  the  time  of  the  awful  conflagra- 
tion that  drew  the  eyes  of  the  civilized  world 
upon  the  suffering  city.  The  Battle  of  Gettys- 
burg is  the  oldest  of  the  three.  The  portrayal 
of  the  greatest  battle  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion 
is  realistic  beyond  description.  It  is  impossible 
for  the  spectator  to  detect  where  the  canvas 
blends  with  the  natural  presentation  beneath 
the  feet.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  people  have 


visited  this  attraction.  The  Wabash  avenue 
cable  cars  take  the  visitor  direct  to  "Gettys- 
burg" and  to  "Niagara,"  which  is  just  across  the 
street.  "Niagara"  is  a  faithful  delineation  of 
the  world-famous  falls,  the  portrayal  being  so 
realistic  that  the  spectator,  infancy,  can  almost 
hear  the  roar  of  the  water. 

The  panorama  depicting  the  fire  is  shown  in 
the  building  formerly  consecrated  to  the  Battle 
of  Shiloh,  on  Michigan  avenue,  near  Madison 
street.  Here  the  visitor  may  stand  for  an  hour 
lost  in  wonder  at  the  realism  of  the  scene  so 
artfully  drawn  on  canvas.  The  panic  of  a  great 
city  in  the  throes  of  a  hopeless  battle  with  the 
destroying  element  is  admirably  pictured,  and 
from  a  view  of  that  speaking  and  truthful  can- 
vas one  may  gain  a  slight  idea  of  the  bitter 
agony  of  those  hours  when  the  proud  city  was 
laid  low  in  the  face  of  as  horrible  a  calamity  as 
ever  befell  a  community.  The  panoramas  have 
a  uniform  admission  fee  of  fifty  cents. 

The  Libby  Prison  War  Museum,  located  on 
Wabash  avenue,  between  Fourteenth  and  Six- 
teenth streets,  belongs  to  the  same  class  as  the 
panoramas  in  the  amusement  category,  inas- 
much as  the  visitor  may  enter  and  wander 
around  for  half  a  day  or  so  if  he  chooses,  taking 
his  own  time  to  view  the  attractions  offered. 
Libby  Prison  is  one  of  the  leading  permanent 


79 


attractions  of  the  city.  On  the  outside,  front- 
ing on  Wabash  avenue,  is  a  massive  stone 
wall,  and  on  the  inside  is  the  identical  Libby 
Prison  in  which  the  soldiers  of  the  north  were 
incarcerated  during  the  war.  The  building  was 
purchased  in  Richmond  by  Chicago  capitalists, 
and  has  been  put  up,  brick  for  brick,  exactly  as 

it  stood  during  the 
time  when  the  na- 
tion was  convulsed 
by  the  horrors  of 
civil  war.  Within 
its  walls  will  be 
found  portraits  of 
all  the  leading  sol- 
diers and  statesmen, 
northern  and  south- 
ern, of  that  period; 
all  kinds  of  firearms 
and  ammunition,  an- 
cient and  modern;  a 
fine  collection  of  historical  documents,  includ- 
ing the  will  made  by  John  Brown  an  hour  before 
his  execution,  and  many  other  war  relics.  It 
may  be  easily  imagined  how  deep  an  interest 
this  place  possesses  for  old  soldiers,  union  or 
confederate.  Old  comrades,  separated  since 
the  close  of  hostilities,  often  meet  there,  and 
many  are  the  reminiscences  exchanged.  The 


8o 

Libby  Prison  is  open  day  and  evening.  The 
admission  fee  is  fifty  cents,  children  half-price. 
Not  far  from  Libby  Prison,  on  Wabash  ave- 
nue, is  another  structure  that  possesses  a  strong 
historical  interest.  This  is  the  fort  of  John 
Brown,  transported  entire  to  this  city  and  en- 
closed in  a  neat  iron  building.  Enterprise  has 
no  compunction  in  these  days,  and  it  is  hard  to 
tell  what  the  visitor  to  Chicago  will  not  see  if 
he  waits  long  enough. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

PERILS    AND    PITFALLS. 

IT  is  nor  insulting  the  intel- 
ligence of  the  stranger  to  warn 
him  against  the    unscrupulous 
persons  who  will  beset  his  path, 
for  they   are    so    numerous 
and  make  their   appearance 
at       such      unexpected 
times    and    places    that 
the  very  smartest  of  us 
,all    are    occasionally    in 
danger  of  being  victim- 
ized.    There  are  probably   more 
"crooked"  people    in    Chicago  at 
the  present    writing     than    any 
other  city  in  the   Union,  and  it  is 
altogether    probable     that      this 
number  will  be  largely  increased 
during  the  progress  of  the  Fair. 

The  criminal  classes  who  infest  Chicago  at 
all  times  are  extremely  varied.  The  common 
tough,  whose  exterior  and  manner  pf  com- 
porting himself  proclaim  his  worthlessness,  is 
not  very  much  to  be  feared.  Such  gentry  will 
be  well  cared  for  by  the  police  during  the  great 


82 

rush  to  the  Fair.  Indeed,  it  is  quite  probable 
that  all  suspicious  or  known  disreputable  char- 
acters will  be  spotted  at  once  and  given  a 
chance  to  leave  the  city,  a  failure  to  avail  them- 
selves of  which,  will  result  in  their  imprison- 
ment until  the  Fair  is  over.  But  there  are  other 
gentry  who  are  infinitely  more  dangerous.  The 
term  "bunco-steerer"  perhaps  best  signifies  their 
calling.  The  term  bunco-steerer  originally 
meant  a  decoy,  or  "capper,"  who  led  or 
"steered"  the  confiding  stranger  against  a  bunco 
"lay-out."  Lately,  however,  its  meaning  has 
broadened.  By  "bunco-steerer"  is  now  meant 
the  oily,  genial  gentleman  who  approaches  you 
on  the  street  corners  and  politely  inquires 
after  your  health,  supplementing  this  query 
with  another  as  to  whether  you  would  not  like  a 
chance  to  get  into  any  sort  of  game  whatso- 
ever. The  bunco-steerer  will  turn  his  wits  to 
almost  any  scheme  to  make  money  at  the  ex- 
pense of  his  more  honest  fellow-creatures.  He 
belongs  to  the  great  army  of  confidence  men 
who  prey  upon  mankind  in  general  and  upon 
gullible  strangers  in  large  cities  in  particular. 

The  confidence  man!  Ah,  beware  of  him  if 
you  value  your  peace.  He  may  make  his  ap- 
pearance at  any  moment  and  in  any  guise. 
The  very  suave  and  polished  gentleman  who 
sits  opposite  to  you  at  the  table  in  the  dining- 


83 

car  and  chats  so  delightfully    with  you    as  you 
ride  into  the  city  together   may   be    a    wolf    in 


sheep's  clothing,  with  de- 
signs on  your  purse.  The 
very  clumsy  confidence 
man  who  walks  up  and 
slaps  you  on  the  back  with  a  cordial  "How  de 
do,  Jones,  how  are  all  the  folks?"  and  imme- 
diately tries  to.  scrape  up  an  acquaintance,  is  not 
to  be  dreaded  except  by  very  green  people  who 
have  never  been  in  a  big  city  before.  It  is  the 
polished  villain,  the  polite,  well-dressed  person 
who,  while  preserving  a  dignified  demeanor, 
nevertheless  tries  to  scrape  up  an  acquaintance 
and  then  proceeds  to  divulge — as  he  will  sooner 
or  later — a  chance  by  which  a  little  easy  money 


84 

can  be  made,  who  is 'to  be  feared.  A  very  good 
rule  to  go  by  is  to  preserve  a  polite  manner  to 
all  strangers,  but  not  to  enter  into  confidential 
relations  with  any  man  who  hasn't  been  intro- 
duced to  you  by  some  one  whom  you  thor- 
oughly know.  The  pleasures  of  a  chance  ac- 
quaintance may  be  great  but  they  are  accom- 
panied by  dangers  to  your  purse.  If  you  go 
into  a  quiet  little  game  of  cards  at  a  hotel  it  is 
a  "cinch"  that  you  will  lose  your  money,  be- 
cause the  men  who  invite  you  into  it  are  cheats 
and  will  not  give  you  a  fair  show.  They  are 
confederates  and  the  money  they  show  cuts  no 
figure,  because  they  have  entered  into  a  com- 
bination to  fleece  the  stranger. 

The  rhapsodical  gentleman  who  rushes  up  to 
you  and  proceeds  to  tell  you  glibly  of  all  the 
people  who  live  in  your  town  has  spotted  you 
for  a  victim.  Look  out  for  him.  It  is  easy  to 
account  for  the  knowledge  he  displays.  Such 
people  make  a  habit  of  hanging  about  the  hotel 
and  studying  the  history  of  every  guest.  That 
is  how  this  sleek  gentleman  succeeded  in  ascer- 
taining so  much  about  you,  my  friend.  The 
hotel  people  watch  very  closely  for  such  gentry 
and  when  one  of  them  is  caught  he  is  never 
given  an  opportunity  to  repeat  his  offense. 

There  are  two  bits  of  advice  which  if  fol- 
lowed closely  will  probably  save  the  unwary 


85 

stranger  from  all  harm.  In  the  first  place  never 
enter  a  place  you  would  be  ashamed  to  have 
your  family  at  home  know  you  entered;  and  in 
the  second  place  never  sign  any  papers  or  lend 
any  money  or  valuables  at  the  request  of  stran- 
gers. 

Among  the  devices  for  snaring  the  wayfarer's 
honest  dollar  is  the  "snap"  auction  sale.  Passing 
along  a  leading  thoroughfare  one  encounters  a 
big  shop  flanked  on  the  outside  by  two  well 
dressed  young  men  who  are  doing  all  they  can 
to  attract  custom.  Inside,  a  red-faced  auction- 
eer is  expatiating  on  the  magnificence  of  the 
plate  and  jewelry  he  is  offering  for  sale.  Don't 
be  deceived  by  the  plate  and  jewelry.  It  would 
probably  be  expensive  at  $5  a  ton.  Neverthe- 
less, the  auctioneer  is  eloquent.  It  is  possible, 
too,  that  he  may  exhibit  for  a  moment  a  really 
valuable  watch  or  ring,  only  to  deftly  conceal  it 
and  substitute  a  worthless  one  for  it  as  soon  as 
somebody  shall  have  made  a  bid.  Scattered 
about  among  the  spectators  are  numerous  "cap- 
pers" who,  whenever  an  article  is  put  up,  bid  a 
few  dollars  against  each  other.  As  soon  as  a 
stranger  makes  a  bid  of  any  sort  the  article  is* 
promptly  knocked  down  to  him  and  handed 
over.  When  he  gets  away  he  discovers  too  late 
that  he  has  been  duped. 

One  has  not  space  at  command  to  cite  all  the 


86 

methods  by  which  the  unwary  are  fleeced  out  of 
their  wealth.  Besides,  new  and  treacherous 
schemes  are  constantly  being  invented.  It  is 
impossible  to  tell  what  plot  the  genius  of  the 
confidence  man  will  strike  next.  These  shrewd 
geniuses  have  even  gone  so  far  as  the  selling  of 
banana  stalks  to  farmers  for  seed.  It  must 
not  be  supposed  by  this  that  all  Chicagoans  are 
dishonest,  although  many  foolish  people  who 
contrive  to  get  fleeced  generally  go  home  utter- 
ing loud  cries  at  the  greed  and  dishonesty  of  the 
big  city  by  the  lake.  But  as  long  as  there  are 
geese  to  be  plucked  there  will  be  rascals  looking 
out  for  the  chance  to  do  the  plucking.  Take 
reasonable  precautions  and  you  stand  in  no 
danger.  But  make  merry  with  chance  compan- 
ions in  questionable  resorts,  and,  unless  Provi- 
dence has  taken  you  under  its  especial  charge, 
you  will  go  home  a  sadder,  wiser  and  poorer 
man. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


AS    TO    ADVENTURESSES. 

THIS    should  perhaps    have    been    in- 
cluded under  the  head  of  the  pre- 
eding  chapter,  for  if  there  are 
any   pitfalls   and   perils    more 
dangerous  than  those    laid  by 
fair  and  un-  Jto  scrupulous 
members  of 
we  have 


the  fairer  sex 
yet  to  be 
aware  o  f 
esses  of 
serve  a 
chapter, 
stitute  a 
m  i  g  h  t , 
priety,  be 
ed  with 


made 

them.  The  adventur- 
Chicago,  however,  de- 
brief and  exclusive 
inasmuch  tis  they  con- 
separate  class  which 
with  very  great  pro- 
asked  to  go'  about  label- 
the  initials  D.  F.  (signifying  "Dangerous  Fe- 
males"). Even  then,  however,  it  is  safe  to  say, 
they  woul-d  not  want  for  victims,  for  there  are 
some  men  who  would  run  after  a  pretty  woman 
if  they  were  morally  certain  that  the  pastime 
would  lead  to  their  everlasting  damnation. 

The  term   adventuress  is  applied  to   women 
of  careless    reputation   who,    being    much   too 


88 

smart  to  endure  the  ignominious  career  of  pro- 
fessional demi-mondaines,  resort  to  various 
shrewd  schemes  to  fleece  the  unwary.  Some 
of  their  class  work  in  concert  with  male  part- 
ners and  in  such  cases  the  selected  victim  gen- 
erally becomes  an  easy  prey.  The  confidence 
man  may  be  dangerous;  the  confidence  woman, 
if  she  be  well  educated  and  bright,  as  well  as 
pretty,  is  irresistible  except  with  the  most  hard- 
ened and  unsusceptible  customers.  The  shrewd- 
est old  granger  of  them  all,  who  steers  safely 
through  the  shoals  and  traps  set  for  him  by 
male  sharpers,  will  go  down  like  the  clover 
before  the  scythe  under  a  roguish  glance, 
as  it  were,  from  a  "white  wench's  black  eye," 
as  Mercutio  said. 

There  is  no  mortal  man  in  this  universe  of 
ours,  be  he  never  so  homely  or  ill-favored,  who 
does  not  cherish  in  his  heart  of  hearts  the  im- 
pression that  there  is  a  woman  or  two  some- 
where whom  he  could  charm  if  he  wished  to. 
It  is  the  spirit  of  masculine  vanity  that  forms 
the  material  upon  which  the  adventuress  may 
work.  With  the  art  of  an  expert  she 'sizes  up 
the  dimensions  of  her  victim's  vanity  the  instant 
she  has  made  his  acquaintance,  and  plays  upon 
it  to  just  the  extent  she  deems  expedient  and 
profitable.  If  it  were  not  for  masculine  vanity 
the  American  adventuress  could  not  exist. 


89 

Suppose,  for  instance,  that  Mr.  John  Smith, 
who  is  a  merchant  in  comfortable  circumstances 
at  home  and  quite  a  great  man  in  his  town,  is 
taking  a  stroll  down  State  street  in  the  bright 
afternoon  sunshine.  He  has  just  gotten  outside 
of  a  good  dinner  at  his  hotel,  prior  to  which  he 
had  a  good  shave  and  a  cocktail — just  the  com- 
bination to  make  a  well-to-do  traveler  with  a 
little  time  on  his  hands  feel  literally  "out  of 
sight,"  as  the  slang  phrase  goes.  Suppose 
then,  as  John  passes  Marshall  Field's,  he  ob- 
serves a  magnificent  creature,  a  royal  blonde, 
mayhap,  or  a  plump  brunette  (either  will  do  for 
the  sake  of  illustration)  peeping  shyly  at  him 
from  beneath  long  silken  lashes  and  smiling 
ever  so  slightly.  Now  John  may  be  a  deacon 
in  the  church  at  home;  he  may  even  be  the 
father  of  a  large  family,  but  if  he  is  human, 
and  animated  by  the  latent  vanity  that  is  the 
paramount  trait  of  his  sex,  he  will  instantly  ex- 
perience a  sensation  of  pleasure  and  attribute 
the  strange  beauty's  attention  to  his  own  long- 
dormant  power  to  fascinate. 

That  splendid  creature  with  her  fine  clothes, 
her  exquisite  complexion  and  her  graceful  bear- 
ing, an  adventuress?  Impossible!  At  least  so 
John  Smith  thinks.  She  may  even  have  a  car- 
riage at  the  curbstone  into  which  she  steps 
daintily,  with  her  eyes  still  slyly  following  the 


90 

amorous  John.  There  is  a  delicate  invitation 
in  the  glance,  and  if  John  is  courageous  he  will 
— pshaw !  Let  us  hope  he.  wont,  for  it  is  a  dead 
certainty  that  the  coy  beauty  is  an  adventuress 
of  the  deadliest  and  most  conscienceless  sort. 
John,  who  in  his  confiding  soul  has  set  her 
down  as  a  duchess  or  a  society  queen  at  least, 
fondly  imagines  that  it  is  his  person  of  which 
she  is  enamored.  We,  who  are  better  posted, 
know  that  it  is  his  worldly  wealth  that  she  is 
after  and  that  even  as  she  gives  him  an  attack 
of* palpitation  of  the  heart  by  her  warm  glance 
she  is  figuring  on  how  she  may  most  easily  pos- 
sess herself  of  that  wealth. 

The  schemes  of  the  city's  adventuresses  are 
quite  as  numerous  as  those  of  the  confidence 
man,  but  blackmail  is  their  great  card  and  the 
one  that  they  play  most  successfully.  As  a 
rule  a  prosperous  citizen 'of  good  reputation  and 
standing  in  his  own  town,  who  misconducts  him- 
self when  away  from  home,  would  rather  pay 
any  sum  in  reason  than  have  his  friends  at 
home  know  of  that  dereliction.  That  is  where 
the  skilled  adventuress  makes  her  strong  play. 
If  she  has  the  power  to  lure  her  victim  into  a 
liaison  she  has  surely  had  the  tact  to  draw 
from  him  in  the  two  or  three  days  they  have 
spent  together  all  the  particulars  she  needs  as 
to  his  relations  in  his  own  town.  What  a  dis- 


9' 

heartening  shock  it  must  be,  must  it  not,  to 
have  this  splendid  creature,  who  has  vowed  a 
thousand  times  to  the  doting  John  Smith  that 
she  loves  him  for  himself  alone,  strike  him  on 
the  morning  of  his  projected  departure  for  home 
for  a  cool  thousand  dollars  in  cash?  Of  course 
he  demurs,  but  when  she  pleasantly  hints  at 
the  trip  she  intends  to  make  to  his  town  and 
the  exposure  that  must  necessarily  follow  what 
is  to  be  done?  Poor  John  Smith!  He  is  not 
such  a  gay  dog  now.  It  gradually  ends  in  a 
compromise  of  some  sort,  for  the  lady  is  sel- 
dom too  exacting,  and  if  John  is  inclined  to  be 
docile — to  the  extent  of  four  or  five  hundred, 
maybe — she  will  probably  be  very  good-natured 
and  let  it  go  at  that. 

This  is  the  highest  type  of  adventuress — the 
aristocrat  of  her  profession.  From  her  the  types 
descend  in  grades,  down  to  the  very  lowest  of 
all,  the  birds  of  the  night  who  prowl  the  streets 
in  search  of  victims  whom  they  may  lure  to  the 
dens  of  their  male  accomplices,  there  to  be  vul- 
garly drugged  or  "slugged"  and  robbed  of  their 
portable  valuables. 

The  "indignant  husband"  game  is  a  favorite 
one  with  adventuresses  of  the  second  class,  by 
which  term  is  signified  such  fair  and  frail  crea- 
tures as  occupy  a  somewhat  lower  place  in  the 
plane  of  rascaldom  than  the  fairy  who  relies 


92 

solely  upon  discreet  blackmail  without  publicity 
for  her  means  of  support.  This  game  is  usually 
played  upon  very  green  persons  for  the  reason 
that  very  few  others  would  fall  victims  to  it. 
The  fair  decoy  makes  the  acquaintance  of  her 


quarry  on  the  street,  at  a  matinee  or  elsewhere. 
For  the  first  interview  she  is  on  her  good  be- 
havior, and  by  her  repression  of  any  approach 
to  familiarity  that  her  newly  acquired  friend 
may  make  she  creates  the  impression  that  she 


93 

is  a  very  nice  and  decorous  person  indeed — a 
little  disposed  to  flirt,  that  is  all.  She  does, 
however,  write  him  to  call  upon  her  and  of 
course  he  does  so — perhaps  to-day,  perhaps  to- 
morrow, but  he  calls,  anyway.  By  letting  fall 
certain  '  artful  hints  she  contrives  to  let  her 
victim  know  that  she  is  a  married  woman.  This 
of  course  lends  an  added  spice  of  interest  to  the 
adventure.  The  idea  of  poaching  on  forbidden 
ground  is  attractive  to  the  dupe.  So  an  hour 
passes  in  pleasant  converse,  and  in  the  natural 
course  of  events  the  caller  becomes  sentimental. 
This  much  accomplished,  he  is  hers,  so  to  speak. 
At  the  very  moment  that  the  poor  victim  is 
congratulating  himself  upon  his  conquest  there 
is  a  thundering  knock  at  the  door. 

''My  God!"  screams  the  lady,  with  the  dra- 
matic intensity  of  a  Bernhardt,  "My  husband!" 

The  startled  fly  in  her  net  squirms  in  his  seat. 
Who  would  not,  situated  as  he  is  ?  "What  is  to 
be  done?"  he  asks  weakly. 

"Hide!  hide!"  says  the  poor  "wife"  frenziedly 
and  straightway  rushes  him  into  a  convenient 
closet.  The  "husband"  enters  and,  singularly 
enough,  finds  no  difficulty  in  discovering  the 
interloper's  hiding-place.  He  is  gruffly  ordered 
to  come  out  and  as  like  as  not  finds  himself 
looking  down  the  barrel  of  a  big  revolver; 

Of  course  he  is  willing  to  make  any   sort  of 


94 

settlement  in  order  to  escape  with  a  whole  skin. 
If  he  has  no  currency  the  "husband's"  wounded 
"honor"  will  be  healed  with  a  check,  although 
he  would  rather  have  his  watch,  seeing  that  the 
payment  of  checks  can  be  easily  stopped  at  the 
bank. 

It  must  not  be  inferred  from  the  foregoing 
that  any  peaceable  gentleman  who  walks  the 
streets  is  liable  to  be  dragged  by  the  nape  of 
his  neck  into  a  compromising  situation  and 
compelled  to  disgorge  all  of  his  portable  wealth 
at  the  point  of  a  pistol.  Far  from  it,  He  who 
walks  the  straight  path  of  virtue  is  in  no  danger 
whatsoever.  It  is  your  frisky  gentleman,  who 
is  out  for  a  little  lark  and  is  reckless  in  his 
manner  of  carrying  out  the  enterprise,  who  is 
likely  to  find  himself  in  a  snare.  "Be  good  and 
you  will  be  happy"  is  a  maxim  (modernized) 
that  applies  very  handsomely  to  this  sort  of 
thing.  "But  you  will  miss  lots  of  fun!"  the 
frisky  man  may  respond.  Well,  well,  even  so, 
but  be  very  careful,  for  you  know  not  how  soon 
or  how  abruptly  the  languishing  angel  at  your 
side  may  change  into  a  fiery  harridan,  deter- 
termined  to  have  your  money,  your  reputation 
or  your  life — whichever  may  suit  her  best. 

Only  a  shade  removed  from  the  "indignant 
husband"  game  is  the  old  "panel"  enterprise, 
which  is  so  very  vulgar  and  simple  in  the  man- 


95 

ner  of  its  operation  that  it  would  not  be  worthy 
of  mention  were  it  not  for  the  author's  desire  to 
warn  strangers  of  every  grade  of  intelligence 
against  every  possible  danger  that  may  lie  in 
wait  for  him.  Beware!  O  sportive  young  gen- 
tleman in  search  of  a  little  diversion,  of  the 
young  woman  who  on  the  shortest  term  of  ac- 
quaintance invites  you  to  accompany  her  to  her 
flat  or  her  boudoir,  as  the  case  may  be.  It  may 
be  that  she  has  a  pair  of  sharp  scissors  in  her 
pocket  with  which  she  deftly  snips  off  your 
money  pocket;  but  tailing  this  device,  the 
"panel"  is  brought  into  play.  While  the  inter- 
view between  the  more  or  less  affectionate  lovers 
is  in  progress  a  panel  in  the  wall  slides  back, 
pushed  by  invisible  hands,  and  a  third  person, 
the  male  confederate  of  the  damsel,  slinks 
through  it  into  the  apartment.  The  amount  of 
plunder  he  secures  depends  entirely  upon  the 
degtee  of  absorption  with  which  the  quarry  is 
wooing  his  charmer  and  the  progress  that  he 
has  made  in  her  affections,  but  however  that 
may  be  he  is  tolerably  certain  to  emerge  a 
heavy  loser.  If  the  presence  of  the  third  party 
is  discovered  (and  it  is  surprising  how  seldom 
this  is  the  case)  a  fight  is  in  order  and  the  victim 
is  fortunate  if  he  escapes  with  only  the  loss  of 
his  valuables  to  mourn  and  no  physical  injury 
to  lament. 


96 

It  is  a  sorry  subject  and  one  is  glad  to  leave 
it.  Before  doing  so,  however,  remember  one 
thing,  and  remember  it  very  distinctly:  No 
young  lady,  however  irreproachable  her  appear- 
ance, who  enters  into  a  street  flirtation,  can 
safely  be  regarded  as  other  than  dangerous. 
Act  on  this  suggestion  and  you  will  run  no 
risks.  In  other  words,  "Be  good  and  you  will 
be  happy."  A  repetition  of  the  maxim  will  do 
no  harm. 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE  TIGER  AND  HIS  HAUNTS. 

WHILE  gambling 
of  all  sorts  and  con- 
dition s  is  to  be 
strongly  deprecated 
it  is  nevertheless  a 
fact  that  a  large  per- 
centage of  the  stran- 
gers who  flock  to  this 
great  city  of  the 
West  find  them- 
selves possessed  at 
times  with  a  desire 
to  view  the  feverish 
scenes  of  which  they  have  heard  so 
much.  Gambling  as  a  confirmed  vice  is  a  ter- 
rible affliction.  It  frequently  happens,  how- 
ever, that  men  who  never  dream  of  gambling 
at  home,  finding  themselves  with  a  little 
superfluous  time  on  their  hands  in  a  strange 
city,  actually  yearn  for  a  little  of  the  excite- 
ment that  is  to  be  obtained  by  staking  a 
small  sum  at  a  game  of  chance  or  skill.  It's 
not  the  amount  of  money  invested  or  the  hope 
of  gain  that  animates  them;  it  is  the  pleasant 


98 

excitement  that  the  game  affords.  Such  men 
usually  regard  the  small  sum  so  risked  as  so  much 
money  thrown  away;  and  as  a  matter  of  fact 
that  is  the  right  way  to  regard  it,  for  those  who 
pit  their  money  and  skill  against  gamblers  suf- 
ciently  educated  to  make  a  living  in  Chicago 
possess  more  nerve  than  discretion.  The  com- 
piler of  this  little  work  advises  everybody  to 
forego  all  games  of  chance  while  resident  in 
this  city.  Confident,  however,  that  with  many 
people  old  enough  and  wise  enough  to  know 
better  this  advice  will  utterly  be  disregarded, 
a  few  remarks  upon  the  present  status  of  the 
gambling  fraternity  in  Chicago  may  not  be 
thrown  away. 

In  the  old  days,  during  the  administration  of 
both  parties,  so  far  as  one  can  remember,  the 
gambling  industry  flourished  like  the  proverbial 
green  bay  tree.  The  South  side,  in  the  business 
district,f  airly  swarmed  with  "hells"  of  all  descrip- 
tions, while  the  lesidence  portions  of  the  city 
were  scarcely  less  favored.  Passing  along  Clark 
street  on  sultry  summer  evenings,  when  the 
heat  of  the  atmosphere  necessitated  the  open- 
ing of  doors  and  windows,  the  rattle  of  the 
chips  and  the  monotonous  voices  of  the  crou- 
piers could  be  distinctly  heard  by  the  wayfarer. 
All  that,  however,  is  now  changed.  Mr.  Wash- 
burne's  administration.when  it  came  into  power, 


99 


set  its  face  sternly  upon  "wide-open  "  gambling; 
from  the  very  outset  the  well-known  places 
were  compelled  to  close  their  doors  on  pain  of 
a  raid  and  the  destruction  of  their  contents.  It 

is,  neverthe- 
less, a  fact 
that  there  are 
still  a  large 
number  of 
prof  essio  n  a  1 
gamblers  in 
C  h  icag  o  — 
presu  m  a  b  1  y 
there  always 
will  be — and 
while  there 

i  are  no  notorious  houses 
open  the  stranger  who  is 
yearning  -for  a  little  action 
for  his  spare  cash  can  be 
readily  accommodated.  The 
notorious  Hankins  castle  on  Clark  street  is 
tightly  closed,  but  every  night  there  may  be 
found  in  that  vicinity  any  number  of  "sporty- 
looking  "  gentry  who  will  be  only  too  glad  to 
guide  the  inquirer  to  a  secluded  spot  where  he 
can  be  accommodated  with  as  large  or  as  small 
a  game  as  his  inclination  may  dictate  or  his 
means  allow. 


100 

That  the  sporting  fraternity  live  in  hopes  of 
the  advent  of  happier  times  is  very  evident. 
Costly  gambling  furniture  in  large  quantities  is 
stored  away  in  anticipation  of  the  coming  into 
power  of  a  mayor  who  will  look  less  rigorously 
on  the  "  profession."  Mr.  Hankins  himself  is 
credited  with  having  paid  the  rent  of  $8,000  per 
year  for  two  years  in  advance  for  his 
place,  which  shows  his  faith  in  his  ultimate 
ability  to  re-open.  In  the  old  days  Hankins' 
place  was  known  as  the  "dinner-pail"  home, 
presumably  by  reason  of  the  large  clientele  of 
workingmen,  clerks  and  other  people  of  small 
means  who  deposited  their  slender  earnings 
with  great  regularity  in  his  coffers  every  Satur- 
day night.  To  this  day  they  tell  how  a  wagon 
used  to  drive  up  to  the  door  a  few  minutes 
before  ten  o'clock  every  Monday  morning  and 
carry  away  to  the  bank  the  load  of  silver  dol- 
lars, halves,  quarters  and  dimes  left  there  by 
the  patrons  of  the  establishment  within  the 
preceding  twenty-four  hours.  The  place  in 
those  times  was  a  sight  for  gods  and  men.  On 
three  floors  games  were  in  progress  and  the 
rooms  thronged  to  the  suffocating  point  with  a 
variegated  assortment  of  humanity,  all  bent  on 
the  one  project — namely,  the  acquisition  of 
riches  on  the  hazard  of  the  cards  or  dice. 
Should  the  place  ever  be  re-opened  the  sight 


101 


will  well  repay  a  visit,  even  though  it  be  merely 
one  of  curiosity.       Nobody  who  enters  is  asked 
to  play,  though  those  who  do  not  are  regarded 
with  suspicion.     A  few  minutes,  however,  is  all 
that  is  necessary  in  which  to  see 
all  that  is  to  be  seen. 
This    description  of  Hankins' 


will  serve  for  any  large  gambling 
house.  At  the  present  time, 
however,  the  industry  is  carried 
on  sub  rosa.  There  are  two  or 
three  places  which  can  be  read- 
ily discovered  by  the  curious, 
where  the  "boss"  gamblers  are  in  the  habit  of 
meeting,  and,  failing  the  presence  of  the  common 
prey,  proceed  to  cheerfully  "wolf"  each  other. 
The  game  chosen  is  the  great  American  game  of 
poker  and  a  nervous  man  is  liable  to  suffer  from 


102 
i 

shortness  of  breath  at  the  sight  of  the  bets  that 
are  made.  There  are  other  places  where  other 
games  are  carried  on,  but  the  visitor,  if  he  is  sen- 
sible, will  steer  clear  of  any  or  all  of  them.  The 
facilities  for  running  such  money  traps  are  so 
limited  and  the  risk  of  arrest  and  punishment  so 
great  that  the  chances  of  encountering  against  a 
"brace"  game  are  about  100  to  i  against  the 
patron;  the  only  consideration  with  the  "slick-" 
gentry  who  manipulate  the  games  being  how 
to  most  expeditiously  relieve  the  wayfarer  of 
his  wealth  at  the  least  possible  risk  to  them- 
selves. Take  the  advice  of  an  old  hand  and 
give  the  polished  and  gentlemanly  professional 
gambler  of  Chicago  a  very  wide  berth. 

For  people  of  wealth  who,  afflicted  with  the 
speculative  mania,  desire  a  larger  field  of  opera- 
tions than  mere  roulette,  faro  or  other  trifling 
games,  such  a  field  is  not  difficult  to  find.  On 
the  Board  of  Trade,  where  colossal  fortunes 
are  sometimes  lost  and  won  in  an  hour,  every 
facility  is  offered  the  stranger  who  desires  to 
take  a  "  flyer."  Stop  in  any  commission  house 
and  signify  your  desire  to  "  play  "  the  market. 
No  introduction  is  necessary — only  sufficient 
money  to  "  margin  "  your  deal.  For  the  bene- 
fit of  the  uninitiated  the  system  of  speculation 
in  grain  and  provisions  may  be  briefly  ex- 
plained. 


103 

If  you  are  possessed  of  a  notion  that  the  mar- 
ket price  of  wheat  or  oats  is  too  low  to  be  justi- 
fied by  circumstances  and  wish  to  back  your  ex- 
pectation of  a  rise  with  money,  nothing  is  more 
simple  of  accomplishment.  In  that  case  order 
your  commission  man  to  buy  you  5,000  or  10,- 
ooo  bushels  of  the  commodity  you  desire  to 
trade  in  and  deposit  whatever  sum  he  demands 
for  margin.  Some  houses  will, make  trades  on 
a  basis  of  one  cent  per  bushel  margin;  but 
that  sort  of  trading  :s  not  very  satisfactory  [in- 
asmuch as  he  will  sell  you  out  at  the  first  point 
or  two  the  market  goes  against  you.  The  pro- 
fits or  losses  on  such  a  deal  are  easily  figured. 
An  advance  of  one  cent  a  bushel,  over  and 
above  the  agent's  commission  of  l/%  of  a  cent  for 
buying  and  selling,  means  a  profit  of  $50.00 
from  the  transaction.  A  corresponding  decline 
means  a  loss  of  the  same  amount.  But  if  the 
speculator  thinks  that  the  article  in  which  he  is 
dealing  is  too  high  in  price  he  puts  up  his  mar- 
gin and  "  goes  short;  "  that  is  to  say,  he  instructs 
his  broker  to  sell,  instead  of  buying  the  amount. 
Sell  what  one  hasn't  got?  Well,  that  would 
ordinarily  be  difficult,  but  the  system  of  mar- 
gins enables  you  to  do  it  on  the  Board  of  Trade. 
If  the  price  advances  after  you  have  sold  ''short" 
you  are  so  much  out  of  pocket; if  it  goes  down 


104 


you  are  so  much  ahead,  less  always  the  commis- 
sion. 

This    is    the    principle    on 
which  a  "flyer"  may  be  taken 
on  the  Board.  This 
outside  speculation 
is  of  course  only  a 
feature  of  the  vast 
legitimate      buying 
and  selling  that   is 
sacted  on  the  Board ; 
there,     just     the 
will   remain   just 
is  legal  to  deal  in 


bill  now  before 


daily     tran- 
bu  t    it   is 
same,  and  it 
so  long  as  it 
"futures."  There  is 
Congress  making  it 
unlawful  to  deal  in 
"futures"     when 
those  futures  affect 
the  market   price  of 
the  necessaries  of  life. 
If  the  bill  should  become 
a  law  it  would  put  a  sudden 
stop  to   outside  speculation 
on     the    Chicago    Board     of 
Trade.     The  proposed  measure 
has  awakened  such  a  storm  of  op- 
position, however,  that  it  is   hardly 
likely  to  go  through.     Many  people  claim  that 


105 

such  a  law  would  virtually  kill  business  on  the 
Board  and  that  it  would  result  in  direct  disad- 
vantage to  the  farmer,  for  whose  benefit  it  was 
framed. 

Quite  aside  from  the  facilities  that  it  presents 
for  a  bit  of  high  speculation  the  Board  of  Trade 
is  in  itself  an  interesting  place  to  visit.  The 
great  stone  building  at  the  head  of  La  Salle 
street,  where  so  many  colossal  fortunes  have 
been  lost  and  won,  is  invariably  one  of  the  first 
places  that  strangers  seek.  It  is  the  largest 
institution  of  its  kind  in  the  world,  being  con- 
structed mainly  of  gray  granite.  The  height 
of  the  tower  is  322  feet  above  the  street.  Around 
the  great  hall  where  the  daily  sessions  of  the 
mammoth  exchange  are  held  are  galleries  to 
which  visitors  are  admitted  free.  During  per- 
iods of  great  excitement,  caused  by  a  rapid  ad- 
vance or  decline  in  prices,  these  galleries  are 
thronged  with  people  who  watch  with  thrilling 
interest  the  half-wild  human  panorama  below. 
At  such  times  the  stranger  may  be  excused  for 
imagining  that  Bedlam  had  broken  loose. 
Groups  of  brokers  stand  about  shouting  at  each 
other  like  so  many  madmen.  Messengers  are 
scurrying  hither  and  thither,  and  at  times  the 
scattering  yells  break  into  a  chorused  roar  be- 
side which  the  screeching  of  a  dozen  locomo- 
tives in  unison  would  seem  tame  in  comparison. 


io6 

The  Board  of  Trade  has  2,000  members.  The 
membership  fee  is  $10,000,  but  the  places  of 
members  who  die  or  resign  may  occasionally  be 
purchased  for  about  half  that  amount.  While 
the  claim  is  always  made  that  only  legitimate 
business  is  transacted  on  the  Board  of  Trade 
the  statement  cannot  be  disputed  that  it  pre- 
sents the  greatest  opportunity  for  high  gam- 
bling in  the  whole  world.  Perhaps  it  is  not  alto- 
gether gambling,  either,  inasmuch  as  it  is  not  so 
much  a  game  of  chance  as  a  game  of  judgment 
and  skill,  in  which  the  cleverest  and  not  the 
luckiest  players  come  out  on  top. 

However  that  may  be  there  have  been  some 
mighty  fortunes  won  and  lost  on  the  Chicago 
Board  of  Trade.  There  was  one  memorable 
Saturday  morning,  nearly  ten  years  ago,  before 
the  Board  moved  into  its  present  qarters,  when 
a  dozen  houses  that  had  hitherto  been  regarded 
as  the  most  substantial  among  the  substantial 
went  down  with  a  crash.  It  was  the  year  of  the 
famous  lard  corner.  Peter  McGeoch,  the  great 
speculator  and  capitalist,  tried  to  buy  all  the 
lard  in  sight.  He  succeeded  in  advancing  the 
price  considerably,  but  the  inevitable  break 
came  and  lard  suddenly  declined  $3  a  tierce. 
All  the  other  products  declined  in  sympathy. 
McGeoch,  in  the  parlance  of  the  day,  went 
broke,  and  he  dragged  a  lot  of  other  men  with 


him.  Old  operators  say  they  never  saw  such 
scenes  on  the  Board  as  were  witnessed  that  day. 
Strong  men  stood  about  crying  like  babies  at 
the  sight  of  their  vanishing  fortunes,  and 
even  those  who  were  earning  thousands  of  dol- 
lars with  the  flight  of  every  five  minutes  stood 
transfixed  with  terror  lest  prices  should  sudden- 
ly bulge  the  other  way  and  land  them  in  ruin 
before  they  had  time  to  realize  their  profits. 
There  was  another  very  similar  scene  in  the 
year  1887,  when  E.  L.  Harper,  President  of  the 
Fidelity  Bank,  of  Cincinnati,  tried  to  ''corner" 
wheat  in  Chicago.  He  and  the  syndicate  he 
represented  came  within  an  ace  of  success. 
They  ran  the  price  up  nearly  15  cents  a  bushel 
and  had  an  enormous  profit  on  paper.  But 
there  came  a  call  for  more  "  margins."  Hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  dollars  in  greenbacks  were 
shipped  to  Chicago  from  Cincinnati,  but  the 
sum  sent  was  not  big  enough,  and  before  the 
required  amount  could  be  raised  the  reaction 
came.  There  were  rumors  one  bright  mor  i  - 
ing  that  a  crash  was  pending.  The  crash  came 
and  wheat  dropped  20  cents  a  bushel  in  one 
hour.  The  syndicate  was  ruined  and  the  very 
men  who  had  sold  "  short  "  and  had  risen  that 
morning  in  the  expectation  of  meeting  ruin 
themselves  found  by  the  same  freak  of  fortune 
which  had  overwhelmed  their  adversaries  that 


io8 

they  were  enriched  by  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
dollars.  The  aftermath  of  that  famous  corner 
is  history.  It  was  found  that  Harper  had  used 
the  Fidelity  Bank's  money  as  well  as  his  own 
and  the  United  States  authorities  took  charge 
of  the  institution.  Harper  was  tried  and  sent 
to  the  penitentiary  for  ten  years. 

In  order  to  realize  the  splendor  of  such  a 
game  one  must  ponder  on  the  actual  facts. 
If  Harper  had  been  able  to  raise  about  $50,000 
more  (he  had  already  put  up  $500,000  in  mar- 
gins) he  and  his  friends  would  have  cleared  mil- 
lions. As  it  was  they  just  fell  short  of  the 
mark  and  were  irretrievably  ruined.  But  would 
not  any  confirmed  gamester  claim  that  such  a 
royal  game  was  worth  the  risk? 

The  attempts  to  run  a  corner  on  the  Chicago 
Board  of  Trade  have  not  always  been  unsuc- 
cessful. B.  P.  Hutchinson,  an  old  gentleman 
who  afterward  went  to  New  York  as  offering  a 
more  profitable  field  for  his  operations,  was  one 
of  the  few  men  who  have  had  money  enough 
to  engineer  a  "  corner,"  run  it  to  its  end  and 
pocket  the  enormous  profits.  "  Old  Hutch,"  as 
he  was  then  familiarly  named,  was  credited  with 
losing  a  half  a  million  cold  dollars  in  the  Har- 
per deal.  The  gentlemen  who  got  this  money 
were  of  course  those  who  sold  "short,"  and  they 
were  said  to  be  a  group  of  millionaires  who 


"had  it  in"  for  "Old  Hutch,"  and  had  laid 
a  trap  to  catch  him.  Whether  these  ru- 
mors had  any  substantiation  in  fact  the  writer 
knows  not.  If  so,  however,  it  may  go  on  record 
as  a  fact  the  "Old  Hutch"  got  right  royally 
even  with  the  gentlemen  who  "  did  him  up  "  on 
this  occasion.  For  a  year  or  so  after  this  Harper 
deal  he  ran  a  corner  in  wheat  entirely  on  his  own 
account.  It  was  the  option  for  the  month  o 
November  to  which  he  turned  his  attention. 
Be  that  as  it  may,  he  bought  all  the  wheat  that 
was  offered  him  and  paid  for  it  at  prices  rang- 
ing from  90  cents  to  #1.10.  The  month  drew 
to  a  close.  The  "bears"  had' one  day  in  which 
to  fill  their  contracts  to  "Old  Hutch"  at  ruinous 
prices.  They  held  off  and  on  the  last  day  of 
the  month,  at  the  expiration  of  which  the  men 
who  had  sold  ' '  short  "  to  Hutch  were  compelled 
to  either  pay  their  difference  or  default  (that  is 
fail),  the  old  gentleman  stepped  up  and  bought 
a  single  car-load  of  wheat  at  $2.00  per  bushel, 
in  order  to  establish  a  price,  and  in,  slang  par- 
lance, "  that  was  where  he  had  'em."  He  not 
only  recovered  his  losses  but  milked  the  alleged 
clique  of  millionaires  for  at  least  a  million  dol- 
lars besides.  They  were  able  to  pay  the  loss, 
and  "  Old  Hutch ''  went  on  his  way  rejoicing.  It 
was  whispered  about  that  time  that  "Old  Hutch's'' 
intellect  went  a  little  awry  after  this  terrible 


no 


strain.  He  disappeared,  and  the  newspapers 
were  full  of  dire  hints  as  to  the  probability  of 
his  having  wandered  off  and  drowned  himself, 
or  else  blown  out  his  brains.  He  turned  up  all 
right  in  New  York,  however,  carrying  on  his 
operations  with  the  old-time  skill  and  nerve, 
and  is,  presumably,  still  making  more  money  to 
leave  his  sons.  A  very  fat  and  interesting  vol- 
ume might  be  written  about  Mr.  B.  P.  Hutchin- 
son  and  his  operations  in  the  Chicago  grain 
market. 

The  very  magnitude  of  deals  like  those 
above  described  is  calculated  to  appall  the  av- 
erage mind.  Let  not  the  reader  suppose, 
however,  that  the  same  opportunities  of  which 
the  millionaire  capitalist  avails  himself  lie  open 
to  every  one.  Far  from  it.  Unlimited  resources 
and  a  life-long  familiarity  with  the  intricacies 
of  the  market  are  necessary  adjuncts  to  the 
manipulation  of  a  corner.  If  the  wayfarer  de- 
sires to  try  his  luck  to  the  extent  of  a  $50  bill, 
or  a#ioobill,  or  a$i,ooo  bill — all  well  and  good. 
But  he  is  not  advised  to  do  so.  He  would  bet- 
ter let  it  alone.  Only  on  the  supposition  that 
there  are  some  men  who  cannot  keep  out  of  a 
glorious  game  like  this  are  the  foregoing  hints 
given. 

On  the  Board  of  Trade  proper  nothing  small- 
er than  a  5ooo-bushel  lot  of  grain  ora25opack- 


Ill 

age  lot  of  provisions  can  be  dealt  in.  On  the 
other  side  of  the  street,  however,  is  the  Open 
Board  of  Trade,  to  the  floor  of  which  strangers 
are  admitted  free,  and  where  one  may  deal  in 
looo-bushel  or  even  5Oo-bushel  lots.  Here  is  a 
place  where  quick  action  may  be  had  for  one's 
money.  The  intending  speculator  may  make 
his  deal,  watch  the  blackboard,  close  out  and 
walk  away  $50  richer  or  $50  poorer,  as  the  case 
may  be,  inside  of  ten  minutes.  The  specula- 
tor takes  big  chances — he  must  never  forget 
that  he  is  playing  against  a  certainty  of  a  loss 
of  ]/&  of  a  cent  a  bushel  (the  commission),  but 
the  profits,  if  there  are  any,  are  handsome.  So 
are  the  losses.  That,  however,  is  merely  infor- 
mation. If  you  are  wise  stay  away  from  it, 
but  if  you  must  go  in  take  an  old-timer's  advice 
and  go  slow. 

In  addition  to  the  two  Boards  of  Trade  there 
are  numerous  "bucket-shops"  all  over  town 
where  the  stranger  can,  if  he  chooses,  relieve 
himself  of  his  wealth  without  the  trouble  of  a 
visit  to  either  Boards.  A  bucket-shop  is  a  snap 
commission  house  which  claims  to  operate  on 
the  Board  of  Trade  quotations.  Their  existence 
is  forbidden  by  law,  but  plenty  are  to  be  found, 
nevertheless.  The  quotations  come  over  a 
"  ticker."  The  customer  buys  or  sells  grain  or 
stocks  at  a  certain  price,  reports  his  "  margins' 


112 

and  awaits  events.  In  an  hour  at  the  out- 
side he  will  get  "  action "  for  his  money. 
There  are  some  bucket-shops  that  ignore  the 
Board  of  Trade  and  carry  on  their  operations 
by  telegraphic  quotations  from  the  New  York 
Stock  Exchange.  If  the  customer,  therefore, 
would  rather  operate  in  Wall  street  than  on  the 
Chicago  Board  he  can  readily  be  accommo- 
dated. 

The  Chicago  Stock  Exchange,  located  at  the 
corner  of  Dearborn  and  Monroe,  is  a  compara- 
tively new  institution  but  one  that  flourishes 
exceedingly.  It  is  devoted  to  the  purchase  and 
sale  of  Chicago  securities  of  all  sorts,  such  as 
bank  and  street  railway  shares,  stocks,  bonds, 
etc.  Several  of  the  banking  and  commission 
houses  connected  therewith  have  private  wires  to 
the  New  York  Stock  Exchange  and  if  their  cus- 
tomers grow  weary  of  "playing"  Chicago  se- 
curities, which  do  not  often  fluctuate  largely  or 
rapidly,  they  can  be  transported  to  Wall  street 
as  quickly  as  the  telegram  can  transmit  the  deal 
they  wish  to  make. 

And  here  the  chapter  on  gambling  may  be 
brought  to  a  close.  It  is  only  presented  as 
showing  the  opportunities  that  the  city  affords 
for  those  of  speculative  tendencies,  and  once 
again  the  author,  conscious  of  having  performed 
his  task  with  all  the  conscientiousness  at  his 


command,  gratuitously  advises  the  reader  to  let 
gambling  of  all  sorts  and  conditions  severely 
alone  during  such  time  as  he  may  remain  in 
Chicago.  For,  while  a  few  may  win,  the  vast 
majority  lose.  Always  remember  that. 

As  the  bully  of  the  school  said  when  the  new 
boy  licked  him  within  an  inch  of  his  life,  "  'Nuff 
said." 


CHAPTER  XI. 


MASQUERADES  AND  SIMILAR  ENTERTAINMENTS. 

THE  more  or  less 
stereotyped  forms  of 
entertainment  to  be 
found  in  the  various 
theaters  do  not  always 
cater  fully  to  the  va- 
rying tastes  of  the 
transient  crowds  that 
throng  the  streets  of 
Chicago  at  all  times. 
'That  "variety  is  the 
spice  of  life"  is  en- 
dorsed by  the  popular- 
ity of  the  different 
festivities  that  are  being  constantly  arranged 
and  that  invariably  secure  profitable  patronage. 
Dancing,  as  a  pursuit  for  pleasure-seekers,  is 
always  popular  and  its  votaries  are  countless. 
There  are  any  number  of  ordinary  dance-halls 
located  in  every  quarter  of  the  city,  and  the 
particular  style  of  entertainment  they  offer  may 
always  be  ascertained  by  consulting  the  adver- 
tising columns  of  the  evening  newspapers. 
There  are  several  high-class  dancing  academies 


H5 

which,  however,  would  hardly  be  classified  as 
public  dance-halls,  their  privileges  being  really 
confined  to  the  pupils  and  classes  who  receive 
regular  instructions  there.  They  may,  how- 
ever, be  particularized  as  follows:  Bournique's 
academy,  a  handsome  brick  structure  located 
at  51  Twenty-third  street,  where  the  youthful 
scions  of  the  "first  families,"  so  called,  receive 
instructions  in  terpsichorean  art;  M.  De  Long, 
78  Monroe  street;  Horace  Beek,  164  Warren 
avenue,  and  Martine's  academy  on  Ada  street, 
between  Madison  street  and  Washington 
boulevard. 

Conceding  that  these  places  are  for  "socie- 
ty"— for  the  aristocrat,  so  to  speak — one  comes 
to  consider  those  that  are  dedicated  to  the 
people — places  where  a  small  sum  of  money  is 
the  passport  for  admission  and  circumspect 
conduct  the  condition  of  remaining.  If  an 
ordinary  dance  or  ball  is  enjoyable  how  much 
more  so  is  a  masquerade — that  merry  carnival 
in  which  identities  are  mysteriously  hidden  and 
all  manner  of  pleasant  pranks  indulged  in  by  the 
maskers,  whose  brilliant  and  variegated  cos- 
tumes transform  the  aspect  of  the  thronging  floor 
into  a  kaleidoscopic  expanse  of  ever-changing 
beauty.  The  accompanying  illustration  de- 
picts the  sort  of  jolly  scene  to  be  encountered 
at  a  typical  Chicago  masquerade — a  scene  which, 


witnessed  for  the  first  time,  is  rarely  forgotten 
until  it  is  eclipsed  perhaps,  by  another  later  and 
even  more  novel. 

Some  prodigious  masquerades  have  been 
witnessed  in  Chicago,  and,  though  the  fall  and 
winter  months  constitute  the  regular  masquer- 
ade season,  the  mercurial  spirit  by  which 
the  population  is  animated  occasionally  mani- 
fests itself  in  a  masquerade  of  large  or 
small  dimensions  at  almost  any  period  of 
the  year.  The  most  extensive  masquerades 
of  all  have  been  held  in  Battery  D,  the  roomy 
building  on  the  Lake  Front,  in  which  has  been 
held  every  style  of  entertainment,  from  floral 
displays  and  dances  to  prize-fights  and  dog 
shows.  While  these  masquerades  may  be 
attended  in  safety  by  any  one  who  goes  in  the 
capacity  of  spectator  and  is  animated  by  a 
determination  to  keep  quiet  whatever  happens, 
some  quite  stirring  scenes  are  occasionally 
witnessed  there.  Like  a  disordered  but  by  no 
means  wholly  unpleasant  dream  comes  over  the 
writer  the  memory  of  a  certain  masquerade  at 
Battery  D,  which  was  a  gigantic  affair,  given 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Board  of  Trade 
Clerks'  Association,  a  coterie  of  youthful  and 
devil-may-care  spirits  whose  only  object  out- 
side of  business  hours  is  to  discover  agreeable 
methods  by  which  to  slay  time.  The  admis- 


sion  fee  was  fifty  cents  per  head,  ladies  free. 
A  commodious  bar  contained  unlimited  re- 
freshment for  the  revelers,  who  were  of  all 
classes,  from  the  young  "chippie"  of  the  cheap 
dry  goods  shops  and  her  red-necktied  escort  to 
the  opulent  banker  and  his  friends  who  viewed 
the  fun  from  the  galleries.  The  variety  of  cos- 
tumes was  simply  infinite.  There  were  clowns, 
knights,  devils,  harlequins,  kings,  princes, 
queens,  shepherdesses,  queens  of  hearts,  fairy- 
maids,  witches;  in  fact,  every  sort  of  character  it 
is  possible  to  imagine.  The  fun  commenced  at 
eight  o'clock  and  continued  until — well  they  say 
it  was  about  noon  the  next  day  when  the  music 
finally  stopped  and  the  last  of  the  revelers  dis- 
appeared. Some  of  the  scenes  that  were  wit- 
nessed were  simply  too  wonderful  for  descrip- 
tion. After  midnight,  when  the  musicians  as 
well  as  the  maskers  found  themselves  vinously 
fortified  to  sufficient  extent,  all  formality  was 
dispensed  with  and  care  thrown  to  the  winds. 
Frolicsome  gentlemen  turned  somersaults  and 
handsprings,  landing  not  infrequently  with 
their  feet  in  the  stomachs  of  their  friends,  and 
equally  frolicsome  ladies  indulged  in  high-kick- 
ing contests  and  other  acrobatic  feats  that 
materially  added  to  the  spirit  of  the  occasion. 
And  fights?  Well,  fights  were  quite  numerous 
but  not  very  deadly.  A  soft  blow  or  two  ex- 


changed,  maybe,  and  then  the  combatants,  ani- 
mated by  the  general  hilarity,  kissed  and 
made  up  with  charming  good-nature  and  aban- 
don. Nobody  bore  any  malice.  A  gentleman 
who  punched  another  gentleman  was  promptly 
forgiven  and  the  reconciliation  sealed  with  a 
drink.  The  gentleman  who  got  punched  as  a 
rule  got  even  by  punching  somebody  else. 
People  who  were  knocked  down  and  walked 
upon  got  up  with  a  lenient  smile  on  their 
faces  and  at  the  earliest  opportunity  walked  on 
other  people.  Once  only  was  there  cause  to 
fear  a  serious  affray.  A  young  man  of  very 
good  family  and  great  wealth  succeeded  in 
incurring  the  displeasure  of  a  band  of  very 
tough  citizens  from  some  region  near  Canal 
street  district.  His  offense  consisted  solely  in 
his  wearing  a  swallow-tail  coat.  Be  that  as 
it  may,  he  was  backed  into  a  corner  and  gruffly 
ordered  to  apologize. 

"Apologize  for  what?"  he  asked.  The  leader 
of  the  tough  gang,  who  was  manifestly  drunk, 
peremptorily  ordered  the  victim  to  cease 
"monkeying"  and  apologize;  if  he  did  not  know 
what  to  apologize  for  he  could  apologize  on 
general  principles.  The  situation  was  desperate. 
The  young  man  knew  it  was  time  to  think  and 
think  quickly.  It  was  a  case  of  apologizing  for 
the  mere  fact  of  his  existence  or  suffering  facial 


H9 

disfigurement  for  three  months.  He  desired  to 
call  next  day  on  the  charming  young  lady  to 
whom  he  was  engaged  and  so  he  wisely  apolo- 
gized, and  the  menacing  horde  of  roughs, 
who  were  preparing  to  tear  him  limb  from 
limb,  at  once  retired,  in  the  best  of  humor,  and 
let  him  escape. 

This,  of  course,  was  a  masquerade  of  the  low- 
er order.  It  is  only  described  to  acquaint  the 
reader  with  the  style  of  entertainment  in  which 
he  may  readily  mingle  if  he  cares  to  look  for 
it.  There  are  plenty  of  other  masquerades 
where  the  company  is  more  select.  The  halls 
along  North  Clark  street, notably  North  side  Tur- 
ner Hall,  advertise  masquerades  and  plain  dances 
the  year  round,  some  of  which  are  very  select. 
The  finest  masquerades  of  all,  however,  are 
given  at  the  Germania  Club,  on  North  Clark 
street,  near  Division.  Admission  is  solely  by 
invitation  and  one  must  possess  an  acquaintance 
with  some  member  of  the  club  in  order  to  secure 
entrance,  and  even  then  it  is  very  difficult. 
Such  entertainments,  however,  are  very  popu- 
lar and  much  sought  after.  At  no  time,  though, 
is  there  a  scarcity  of  public  dances  which  will 
afford  the  visitor  all  the  pleasure  of  that  sort 
he  is  seeking,  at  a  very  trifling  admission  fee. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


ON  SHOPPING. 

A  PARTY  of  visitors 
in  which  there  are  one  or 
more  ladies  will  unques- 
tionably go  on  a  shopping 
excursion  of  greater  or 
less  extent,  according  to 
the  tastes  of  the  fair  ones 
and  the  length  of  the  pur- 
ses possessed  by  their  es- 
corts. It  is  not  intended 
to  give  any  advice  as  to 
where  to  go  on  such  oc- 
casions. To  do  so  would  be  to  "get  oneself 
disliked,"  as  the  saying  goes.  It  is  not  possible 
to  mention  all  the  great  shops  or  stores  in  de- 
tail ;  it  would  be  manifestly  unfair  to  praise  a 
few  to  the  exclusion  of  the  many.  There  are  a 
few  great  houses,  however,  the  names  of  which 
are  in  a  sense  landmarks,  and  have  nothing  to 
lose  or  gain  by  being  either  spoken  of  or 
omitted. 

It  has  been  said  that  one  can  buy  absolutely 
anything  on  State  street,  from  a  stick  of  candy 
to  an  elephant.  Certain  it  is  that  there  are 


121 

some  stores  on  that  thoroughfare,  notably  Mar- 
shall Field's,  Gossage's,  the  Boston  Store, 
Mandel's,  Schlesinger  &  Mayer's,  the  Fair,  the 
Leader,  J.  H.  Walker  &  Co.'s,  and  Siegel  & 
Cooper's,  that  contain  almost  everything 
obtainable  for  money.  State  street  is  the 
great  retail  thoroughfare  of  the  city  and  in 
any  of  the  stores  mentioned  the  customer  is 
certain  of  fair  treatment  and  his  money's  worth. 
These  houses  are  all  extensive  advertisers  in 
the  daily  newspapers  and  if  extensive  pur- 
chases are  contemplated  it  is  just  as  well  to 
scan  these  advertisements  for  notices  of  "spec- 
ial sales,"  as  they  are  called.  During  "special 
sales "  of  certain  articles  the  reduction  in  the 
prices  of  those  articles  is  very  low  and  much  is 
to  be  gained  by  looking  out  for  announcements 
that  may  save  the  purchaser  considerable 
money.  The  first  five  houses  enumerated  are 
located  between  Randolph  and  Madison  streets. 
The  Fair,  which  is  a  wonder  in  itself,  and  very 
popular,  owing  to  the  cheapness  of  its  goods, 
stands  opposite  to  the  Leader,  at  State  and 
Adams  streets.  James  H.  Walker  &  Co.  have 
a  large  building  on  Wabash  avenue,  at  the  cor- 
ner of  Adams.  Siegel  &  Cooper's  great  place, 
occupying  nearly  a  block,  from  Van  Buren  to 
Congress  streets,  is  one  of  the  sights  of  th'ecity, 
being,  it  is  said,  without  exception  the  largest 


122 


store  in  the  world  which  is  devoted  to  the  sale 
of  general  merchandise. 

All  the  leading  stores  have  high-class  restaur- 
ants attached  to  them,  a  feature  keenly  appre- 
ciated by  lady  shoppers,  who  find  it  very  con- 
venient to  rest  from  their  arduous  labors  long 
enough  to  take  luncheon  and  then  resume  the 
happy  pastime  of  getting  rid  of  the  dollars  that 
their  husbands  and  fathers  have  bestowed 
upon  them  for  this  purpose. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


CARROUSELS. 

THE  carrousel  is 
a  form  of  entertain- 
ment which  has  grown 
popular  with  a  certain 
class  of  people  within 
recent  years.  The 
term  may  be  a  little 
;  obscure  to  the  uninitia- 
ted.but  they  will  readily 
understand  its  mean- 
ing when  it  is  explained 
that  the  carrousel  is 
nothing  more  or  less  than  the  old-fashioned 
"merry-go-round"  which  we  all  easily  remem- 
ber as  a  feature  of  fairs,  circuses  and  other 
out-door  entertainments.  There  are  at  the 
present  writing  several  carrousels  in  the  city, 
but  it  would  be  quite  useless  to  specify  their 
location,  because  they  change  places  so  fre- 
quently that  to  do  so  would  only  be  misleading. 
They  are  here  today,  there  tomorrow;  but 
there  never  need  be  any  difficulty  in  finding 
them.  An  inquiry  of  the  hotel  clerks  or  any 
other  well-posted  person  will  secure  the  desired 


I24 

imformation  as  to  where  the  nearest  carrousel 
is  to  be  found. 

Various  newspapers  have  from  time  to  time 
waged  war  upon  the  caroussel  on  the  ground 
that  it  is  prejudicial  to  the  morals  of  young 
people  who  patronize  it.  This  work  does  not 
assume  to  criticize,  but  to  state  facts.  It  is  a 
fact  that  the  carrousels  are  well  patronized  as 
a  rule  and  that  the  young  people  who  do  the 
patronizing  appear  to  extract  no  end  of  fun  out 
of  the  whirligig  process. 

The  caroussel  or  "merry-go-round"  is  gener- 
ally situated  in  a  flimsy  building  on  some  con- 
venient vacant  lot,  rented  for  the  purpose  at  a 
pinch,  so  to  speak.  The  fiery  wooden  steeds 
that  go  whirling  round  and  round  in  a  circle,  to 
the  spirited  music  of  a  brass  band  or  snorting 
orchestrion,  bear  on  their  backs  sundry  youths 
and  maidens,  with  now  and  then  an  old  boy  or 
girl  thrown  in  as  a  leaven  to  offset  the  general 
juvenility,  who  indulge  in  all  manner  of  spor- 
tive remarks  and  jests  as  they  go  on  their  cir- 
cular journey.  It  must  not  be  supposed  that 
the  ride  itself  forms  the  chief  part  of  the  enter- 
tainment. By  no  means.  A  very  little  of  that 
goes  a  long  way.  The  principle  part  of  the  fun 
is  derived  from  standing  among  the  many  rows 
of  spectators  and  listening  to  the  witticisms 
that  are  indulged  in  at  the  expense  of  the  riders. 


125 

These  are  often  very  pert,  not  to  say  cutting, 
and  the  lively  repartee  (not  always  very  re- 
fined) that  is  exchanged  between  equestrians 
and  spectators  is  always  productive  of  infinite 
amusement  to  the  chance  visitor.  A  too  point- 
ed remark  not  infrequently  leads  to  a  spirited 
argument,  which  spirited  argument  not  infre- 
quently results  in  a  row  in  which  the  friends  oi 
the  participants  are  as  likely  as  not  to  take  part. 
In  such  an  event  that  is  the  time  when 
courtesy  and  all  semblance  of  it  abruptly  ends 
and  simple  muscle  then  comes  into  play.  This  is 
good  time  for  the  outsider  to  withdraw  to  a  safe 
distance,  but  though  the  combat  is  never  very 
deadly — no  shooting  scrape,  according  to  the 
writer's  recollection,  ever  having  taken  place  in 
a  carrousel — it  is  just  as  well  to  avoid  the  risk 
of  a  black  eye  or  a  bloody  nose  that  may  result 
from  a  chance  whack  from  a  too-enthusiatic 
pleasure-seeker  who  has  become  embroiled  in 
the  fray  with  or  without  his  consent.  The  bat- 
tle, inconsequential  as  it  always  is,  invariably 
terminates  before  it  is  found  necessary  to  call 
in  the  police. 

The  ground  upon  which  certain  of  the  great 
editors  of  the  city  have  attacked  the  carrousel 
is  that  of  the  temptation  to  wrong-doing  which 
it  presents  to  the  young.  Certain  it  is  that 
wherever  a  carrousel  is  located  a  large  clientele 


126 

of  girls  of  tender  age  seems  to  follow  in  its 
wake.  These  girls  are  of  the  sort  irreverently 
referred  to  by  the  very  tough  young  men  of  the 
period  as  "chippie."  They  do  not  seem  to  be 
burdened  with  a  great  supply  of  innocence,  but 
it  is  beyond  question  that  the  surroundings  of 
the  carrousel  lead  them  to  indulge  in  such 
behavior  as  they  would  not  be  guilty  of  else- 
where. In  this  respect  the  caroussel  has  in  a 
measure  taken  the  place  of  the  skating-rink. 
Roller-skating  some  years  ago  was  a  craze,  and 
while  the  carrousel  craze  has  never  assumed 
the  dimensions  of  that  popular  "fad"  its  asso- 
ciations are  very  similar.  There  is  always  a  lib- 
eral supply  of  alcoholic  beverages  to  which  the 
patrons  of  the  carrousel,  male  and  female,  have 
easy  access.  Indeed,  in  some  cases,  there  is  a 
saloon  directly  attached.  From  this  fact  it  may 
be  easily  imagined  that  this  is  not  the  sort  of 
place  from  which  a  girl  of  fifteen  or  thereabout 
can  be  expected  to  derive  any  lasting  benefit— 
and  any  number  of  such  girls  will  be  found  en- 
joying themselves  at  the  various  carrousel 
enclosures. 

Whatever  be  its  merits  or  demerits  the  car- 
rousel constitutes  one  of  the  features,  good,  bad 
or  indifferent,  of  a  great  city.  As  such  it  is  men- 
tioned here,  and  for  no  other  reason  whatsoever. 
It  may  interest  you  to  go  and  take  a  look  at  one. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

TURKISH    BATHS MASSAGE MANICURES. 

THE  heading  of    this  chapter 
may  at  the  first  glance  seem  pecu- 
liar.  If  so,  you  don't  have  to  read 
it,  do  you?     Nevertheless,  a  little 
space  may  be  devoted,  in   a  hap- 
hazard sort  of  way,  to  a  feature 
of   Chicago  life  that  is  not  with- 
out its  charms  for  those  who 
are  initiated. 

yv  Chicago  is   nothing  if   not 

L\\»  metropolitan.      The   Turkish 
bath    is  a  feature  of  metro- 
politan life  which  should  not 
be  deprived  of  its  proper  share  of  attention. 

Ever  taken  a  Turkish  bath?  No?  Then 
remedy  the  deficiency  in  your  education  at  once 
and  at  the  same  time  taste  one  of  the  sublimest 
sensations  that  falls  to  the  lot  of  man  in  this 
prosaic  world  of  ours! 

To  particularize  all  the  Turkish  baths  of  the 
city  would  consume  too  much  space.  They 
can  be  found  in  connection  with  most  of  the 
leading  hotels.  The  Palmer  House  baths,  lo- 
cated beneath  the  barber  shop,  the  floor  of 


128 

which  is  studded  with  silver  dollars,  is  perhaps 
the  most  celebrated.  They  are  open  day  and 
night — as  all  Turkish  baths  naturally  are — and 
enjoy  a  large  patronage.  There  are  other 
places,  quite  independent  of  the  hotels,  notably 
Franks',  on  Wabash  avenue.  The  visitor  is  well 
cared  for  and  given  a  taste  of  Oriental  cleanli- 
ness and  luxury  at  any  hour  of  the  day  or  night. 

The  Turkish  bath  owes  a  good  deal  of  its 
popularity,  I  fear,  to  its  revivifying  effect  on 
the  toper.  A  man  may  enter  a  Turkish  bath 
with  the  most  aggravated  case  of  "jag"  on 
record  and  emerge  in  a  few  hours  fresh, 
cleansed  and  glorified — "clothed  and  in  his 
right  mind,"  as  Holy  \yrit  has  it.  Not  to  say 
that  only  tipplers  patronize  the  baths!  Far 
from  it.  People  of  unimpeachable  sobriety  in- 
dulge regularly  in  them  for  their  health-giving 
qualities  alone.  In  hot  weather,  when  the  cloth- 
ing sticks  with  disagreeable  closeness  to  the 
body,  there  is  no  easier  method  of  "cooling  off" 
than  a  passage  through  this  fiery,  or  rather 
steaming,  ordeal.  Listen  a  moment  and  learn 
how  it  is  done. 

You  descend  a  flight  of  stairs  into  a  basement 
and  enter  the  mystic  portals.  A  colored  servi- 
tor, almost  nude,  escorts  you  politely  to  a 
dressing-room.  The  torrid  atmosphere  has 
already  produced  a  feeling  of  enervation,  and 


I2Q 


you  doff  your  clothes  with  alacrity.  You  then 
wind  about  you  the  sheet  with  which  you  have 
been  provided  and  emerge,  giving  all  your 
valuables  to  a  clerk,  who  deposits  them  in  the 
safe.  You  are  then  led  to  the  "hot-room,"  as  it 
called,  in  which  you  remain  as  long  as  you  like. 
Hot?  Well,  rather.  The  senses  become 

numbed  and  dulled 
under  the  great  heat, 
but  the  sensation  is  de- 
licious beyond  descrip- 
tion.  Lying  full  length 


on  the  couch,  fairy  visions  float  before  the  mind. 
Try  to  think  connectedly  and  the  effort  will  be 
a  failure.  The  mind  becomes  a  strange  jumble, 
in  which  people  and  events,  real  and  imaginary, 
mix  themselves  without  volition  of  yours  in  a 
kaleidoscopic  mass  of  pleasant  pictures.  A 


130 

copious  and  wholesome  perspiration  breaks  out 
at  every  pore.  After  awhile  even  the  strongest 
of  us  has  had  enough  of  it,  and  another  stage 
of  the  process  is  reached. 

The  bather  is  now  laid  full  length  on  a  mar- 
ble slab,  with  a  blown-out  rubber  pillow  under  his 
head.  A  stalwart  negro  takes  him  in  hand.  He 
is  rubbed,  pinched  and  pounded  and  kneaded 
with  a  vigor  that  at  any  other  time  might  be 
unpleasant.  In  the  drowsy  languor  of  the 
moment,  however,  it  is  all  right,  and  when  the 
servitor  presently  smears  him  all  over  with 
sweet  smelling  suds  only  to  rinse  him  copiously 
a  minute  afterward  with  a  bucket  of  tepid 
water  the  subject  of  the  operation  would  not 
change  places  with  the  king  of  Siam  or  any 
other  potentate  of  whom  he  has  heard  great 
things.  This  done,  he  is  led  to  the  shower 
bath,  where  the  gentle  stream  falls  over  him  for 
a  few  minutes,  at  first  warm,  then  colder,  until 
he  rushes  out  from  under  a  veritable  stream,  of 
ice-water.  Acting  under  instructions  he  plunges 
without  hesitation  head-foremost  into  the  big 
swimming  bath  that  stands  ready  to  receive 
him.  In  this  he  may  sport  and  gambol  at  will 
until  he  is  tired,  and  in  the  cool  embrace  of  the 
spacious  tank  the  fever  of  the  hot-room  is  for- 
gotten and  his  body  brought  back  to  a  normal 
temperature.  Emerging  from  the  swimming- 


bath  he  is  rubbed  perfectly  dry  by  an  attend- 
ant and  escorted  to  a  couch  in  a  large,  cool 
room,  where,  wrapped  in  a  sheet,  he  may  lie  as 
long  as  he  lists  in  the  sweet,  dreamless  sleep  of 
the  happy  and  the  just.  If  it  is  his  first  expe- 
rience he  will  vow  on  leaving  the  place  that,  as 
as  well  as  being  refreshed  and  revivified  he 
feels  cleaner  than  he  ever  felt  in  all  his  life,  and, 
as  cleanliness  is  said  to  be  next  to  godliness, 
this  is  something  by  no  means  to  be  despised. 
A  Turkish  bath  in  a  first-class  place  costs  $i, 
though  there  are  plenty  of  places  where  the 
charge  is  lower.  Most  Turkish  bath  establish- 
ments have  an  apartment  especially  provided 
for  ladies. 

Massage — a  good  deal  is  contained  in  the 
word.  There  are  massage  parlors  in  Chicago 
and  again  .there  are  —  massage  parlors,  or 
at  least  those  called  such  by  their  proprietors. 
There  are  legitimate  massage  parlors  conducted 
by  competent  physicians,  employing  skilled 
male  operators  who  treat  the  applicant  with 
every  consideration.  Massage — which  consists 
of  rubbing  weak  or  otherwise  affected  parts  of 
the  body  with  the  hands — is  recommended  by 
many  physicians  as  a  cure  for  rheumatism  and 
kindred  ailments.  The  applicant  seeking  such 
treatment,  however,  should  assure  himself  that 


132 

he  is  going  to  a  place  where  he  will  receive  such 
treatment  as  he  needs  and  nothing  else. 

For  there  are  so-called  massage  parlors — ex- 
tensively advertised  in  some  of  the  daily  papers 
as  employing  lady  operators — that  are  nothing 
more  or  less  than  improper  resorts  in  disguise. 
There  have   been   times   when  the   "massage" 
question  has    received   critical    and    analytical 
attention  from  one  or  more  sensational  papers, 
and  the  disclosures  that  have  been  made   from 
time  to  time  have  been  anything  but  edifying. 
The  visitor  will  receive  a  sort  of  a  Turkish  bath 
at  the  hands  of  a  "lady"  operator,  but  other  en- 
tertainment will   not  be  difficult  to   procure  if 
he  should  express  a  word  or  two  to  that  effect. 
From    a   standpoint     of     morality    as    well    as 
prudence  it  is  a  good  plan  to  let   such    "mas- 
sage" (?)  establishments  as  brazenly  advertise 
their  employment  of  "lady  operators"  severely 

alone. 

• 

"Manicuring,"  by  which  term  is  signified  the 
treatment  of  the  hands,  is  an  industry  that  is 
only  mentioned  in  this  chapter  by  reason  of  its 
bearing  on  the  care  of  the  person  or  the  toilet. 
The  manicuring  establishments  are  in  every 
way  respectable.  For  the  sum  of  one  dollar  a 
pleasant-faced  young  woman  washes  one's 
hands  in  a  preparation  of  her  own  manufacture 
and  so  trims,  polishes  and  fixes  up  one's  finger- 


133 

nails  that  the  average  customer  does  not  recog- 
nize them  as  his  own  after  she  has  finished  the 
delicate  task.  Aside  from  the  neatness  im- 
parted by  the  operation  few  men  object  to  the 
sensation  produced  by  having  a  pretty  woman 
manipulate  scientifically  and  dally  with  his 
clumsy  hands  for  half  an  hour  or  more. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


HACKMEN  AND  THEIR  WAYS. 

THERE  is  a  well- 
grounded  suspicion  in 
some  quarters  that 
only  the  hackmen  of 
Niagara  can  compete 
with  the  hackmen  of 
Chicago  in  their  fond- 
ness for  extortion  and 
their  success  in  prac- 
ticing it.  Yet,  while  it 
is  very  true  that  most 
Chicago  hackmen  are 
imbued  with  a  praiseworthy  desire  to  earn  all  they 
can,  and  are  none  too  conscientious  in  their  ambi- 
tions to  acquire  riches  rapidly, there  is  a  very  easy 
manner  in  which  to  avoid  disputes,  namely: 
make  your  bargain  with  your  Jehu  before  you 
enter  his  vehicle.  If,  after  such  an  arrange- 
ment, he  endeavors  to  impose  upon  you  at  the 
end  of  the  ride,  you  may  be  sure  he  is  trying  to 
give  you  the  worst  of  it.  In  such  a  contin- 
gency, which  may  arise  in  very  rare  cases,  pay 
him  nothing  whatever  until  you  have  called 
a  policeman.  It  is  part  of  every  policeman's 


135 

duty  to  familiarize  himself  with  the  schedule  of 
legal  cab  fares,  and  he  will  settle  the  dispute  in 
very  short  order.  It  will  be  found,  however, 
that  most  of  the  public  hackmen  are  pretty 
square  fellows,  a  little  bit  prone  to  try  for  the 
best  it,  maybe,  but  always  amenable  to  reason, 
—particularly  if  it  be  a  uniformed  officer  who 
talks  the  "  reason  "  to  them. 

As  a  general  thing  it  will  be  found  that  the 
street-cars  provide  ample  facilities  for  trans- 
portation to  any  given  point  in  any  direction. 
There  is  a  uniform  fare  of  five  cents  on  all  the 
lines,  and  for  this  trifling  sum  one  may  ride 
many  miles  on  any  of  the  cable  lines.  These 
lines  run  direct  to  all  the  parks  and  most  peo- 
ple choose  this  inexpensive  mode  of  traveling. 
Occasionally,  however,  parties  desire  a  more 
luxurious  mode  of  transit,  preferring  to  visit  the 
parks  in  a  carriage  and  drive  about  in  the  pleas- 
ant intricacies  of  the  leafy  aisles  instead  of 
traveling  afoot;  in  which  case  an  understand- 
ing with  the  driver  before  the  start  is  made  be- 
comes an  imperative  necessity.  But  in  order 
that  there  may  be  no  mistake  it  is  just  as  well 
to  set  forth  briefly  the  legal  rate^or  cab-hire  es- 
tablished by  the  city  ordinance. 

The  charge  of  conveying  one  or  two  passen- 
gers from  one  railroad  depot  to  another  in  a 
hack — by  which  term  is  signified  a  vehicle 


136 

drawn  by  two  horses — is  one  dollar;  for  con- 
veying one  or  two  passengers  any  distance  over 
one  mile  and  less  that  two  miles,  $1.50;  for  each 
additional  two  persons  of  the  same  party,  fifty 
cents.  For  conveying  one  or  two  passengers 
any  distance  exceeding  two  miles  the  charge  is 
$2.00 — fifty  cents  more  for  each  additional  pas- 
senger of  the  same  party.  Children  between 
the  ages  of  five  and  fourteen  years  call  for  half 
rates,  but  there  is  no  charge  for  youngsters  un- 
der five — providing  that  the  distance  they  are 
carried  does  not  exceed  one  mile.  In  case  it  is 
desired  to  charter  a  hack  for  the  day  the  charge 
is  $8.  Four  persons  may  ride  in  this  way,  from 
point  to  point,  stopping  as  often  as  they  may 
wish.  Or  the  hack  may  be  chartered  by  the 
hour,  the  charge  for  which  system  is  as  follows: 
Two  dollars  for  the  first  hour  and  one  dollar  for 
each  additional  hour  or  part  of  an  hour.  As  to 
baggage,  each  passenger  is  allowed  to  carry  with- 
out charge  one  trunk  and  twenty-five  pounds  of 
other  baggage.  For  each  additional  package 
so  carried  the  driver  may  charge  fifteen  cents. 
Baggage  of  course  is  only  carried  on  short  trips, 
between  railroad  depots  and  hotels,  it  being 
presumable  that  no  traveler  wishes  to  take  his 
trunk  with  him  out  to  the  park  or  to  the  World's 
Fair  grounds. 

The   rates    for   hansom    cabs,   or  other  one- 


137 

horse  vehicles,  is  much  lower,  being  twenty-five 
cents  per  mile  or  fraction  of  a  mile  for  each 
passenger.  By  the  hour,  seventy-five  cents  for 
the  first  hour  and  twenty  cents  for  each  quarter 
of  an  hour  thereafter.  For  service  outside  the 
city  limits  and  in  the  parks:  for  the  first  hour, 
one  dollar,  and  twenty-five  cents  additional  for 
each  quarter  of  an  hour  thereafter.  It  should 
be  remembered  that  no  time  engagements  will 
be  made  by  any  driver  for  less  than  an  hour. 

It  is,  the  dwty  of  every  hackman  and  cabman 
to  have  posted  conspicuously  in  his  vehicle  the 
rates  of  fare  as  quoted  above.  The  law  re- 
quires him  to  do  so.  But  even  if  he  has  com- 
plied with  the  legal  requirements  it  is  just 
as  well  to  make  the  bargain  with  him  before 
starting,  particularly  if  the  journey  be  a  long; 
one.  Disputes  can  be  most  easily  avoided  in 
that  way. 

Many  people  prefer  to  secure  their  carriages 
from  the  hotel  livery  stables.  The  charge  in 
that  case  will  be  somewhat  higher,  with  a  cor- 
responding advantage,  of  course,  in  the  point  of 
style. 

When  a  party  of  twenty  to  thirty  people  wish 
to  take  an  outing  in  the  parks  the  best  plan  is 
to  charter  a  coach,  or  "  tally-ho,"  as  it  is  gener- 
ally called,  and  the  charge  for  which  is  $25  to 
$30  for  the  afternoon  or  evening.  When  di- 


138 

vided  up  equally  between  the  gentlemen  of  the 
party  the  cost  is  by  no  means  ruinous.  These 
coaches  are  drawn  by  four  or  six  horses  and  the 
ride  is  always  an  enjoyable,  not  to  say  exhila- 
rating, one.  It  is  considered  de  rigueron.  such 
occasions  for  the  two  handsomest  men  in  the 
party  to  station  themselves  at  the  foot  of  the 
ladder  and  help  the  ladies  up  to  the  best  seats 
on  the  roof  of  the  coach. 

For  the  journey  to  Jackson  Park  and  the 
World's  Fair  grounds  hacks  and  cabs  are  little 
in  demand  for  the  reason  that,  if  the  cable  cars 
are  not  considered  quick  or  commodious 
enough,  the  Illinois  Central  trains,  which  run 
every  few  minutes,  stop  at  the  South  Park 
station,  at  the  very  gates  of  Jackson  Park. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


1HK  CITYS  MORAL  SIDE. 

CHICAGO  has 
been  called,  in  its 
time,  the  wickedest 
city  in  the  world,  and 
somehow  or  other 
(in  exactly  what 
manner  it  matters 
not)  the  impression 
has  gone  abroad  that 
it  is  really  a  very  wick- 
ed place  indeed.  It 
is  with  the  idea  of 
counteracting  thisim- 
pression  in  some  degree  that  reference  is  about 
to  be  made  to  some  institutions,  the  very  ex- 
istence of  which,  denotes  a  desire  on  the  part  of 
the  respectable  majority  to  do  all  they  can  for  the 
benefit  and  improvement  of  the  minority,  given 
over  to  evil  ways. 

Every  great  city  in  the  world  has  its  wicked 
side.  Chicago  is  not  an  exception  to  the  rule, 
but  it  may  be  maintained,  with  earnest  empha- 
sis, that  it  is  at  least  no  worse  in  this  respect 
than  its  contemporary  cities.  It  contains,  more- 


140 

over,  some  institutions  that  should  atone,  in 
the  eyes  of  its  critics,  for  some  of  the  evils  that 
are  undoubtedly  to  be  found  within  its  borders. 

It  is  possible  for  a  perfectly  moral  person, 
one  used  to  all  the  refinement  and  peace  of 
the  most  law-abiding  and  self-respecting  of 
.  communities,  to  spend  any  length  of  time  in 
Chicago  without  being  contaminated  by  the  evil 
that  may  be  found  easily  enough  if  sought. 
This  statement  is  made  with  due  consideration 
and  careful  thought.  It  may  seem  a  bold  one, 
but  it  is  true,  nevertheless. 

In  a  previous  chapter,  on  the  churches  of  Chi- 
cago, the  author  has  given  the  readei  some  idea 
of  the  strictly  religious  institutions  of  the  city. 
But  there  are  other  institutions,  semi-secular  in 
their  nature  and  tone,  but  wholesome  in  their 
effect  upon  the  moral  welfare  of  stranger  and 
native  alike,  that  deserve  especial  mention. 

This  allusion  does  not  apply  to  the  inebriate 
asylums,  the  hospitals  or  charitable  institutions. 
They  are  too  numerous  to  particularize,  but 
they  all  exert  a  wholesome  effect  upon  the  mor- 
al welfare  of  the  city.  But  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  or,  rather,  the  Chicago 
branch  of  it,  deserves  some  special  attention. 
The  present  home  of  the  Association.on  the  south 
side  of  Madison  street,  between  Clark  and 
La  Salle,  was  for  a  long  time  ample  to  provide 


141 

for  the  wants  of  members  and  strangers.  A 
new  building,  however,  is  in  course  of  prepara- 
tion. The  site  of  the  new  building  adjoins  the 
present  property.  The  lot  has  a  52  foot  front 
on  La  Salle  street  and  185  feet  on  Arcade 
court.  One-third  of  the  space  in  the  new 
building  will  be  utilized  for  Association  pur- 
poses and  the  remainder  for  offices,  the  ground 
floor  being  rented  for  stores.  The  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
proper  will  have  two  stories  fronting  on  La 
Salle  street  and  seven  on  Arcade  court.  The 
estimated  cost  of  the  new  building,  which  will 
contain  libraries,  reading-rooms,  gymnasium, 
etc.,  of  the  most  approved  description,  will  be 
$1,40x3,000. 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  is  an 
organization  whose  influence  is  felt  around  the 
world.  Its  branches  extend  to  every  inhabited 
portion  of  the  globe,  and  it  goes  without  saying, 
perhaps,  that  a  member  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  from 
another  city  is  always  sure  of  a  welcome  at 
the  home  of  the  Association  in  this  city  or  else- 
where. In  addition  to  the  members,  strangers 
are  always  welcome  at  the  Association  rooms 
and  every  consideration  shown  for  their  bene- 
fit and  comfort. 

The  Chicago  membership  is  over  5,000. 
There  are  five  branches  in  different  parts  of  the 
city. 


142 

The  Public  Library  is  an  institution  the  good 
influence  of  which  can  hardly  be  over-estima- 
ted. It  is  at  present  located  on  the  fourth  floor 
of  the  City  Hall  building,  though  in  future  years 
it  will  occupy  a  splendid  home  of  its  own  now 
in  progress  of  erection  on  the  vacant  lot  known 
as  Dearborn  Park,  Michigan  avenue,  between 
Randolph  and  Washington  streets.  It  is  one 
of  the  largest  free  public  libraries  in  the  world, 
and  its  reading  and  reference  rooms  are  at  all 
times  open  to  strangers.  A  card  signed  by 
some  respectable  citizen  is  the  only  passport 
needed  to  its  circulating  shelves. 

The  new  Women's  building, at  the  corner  of  La 
Salle  and  Monroe  streets,  must  remain  an 
everlasting  monument  to  the  influence  of  good 
women  upon  the  existence  of  mankind,  at  least 
so  far  as  Chicago  is  concerned.  It  was  erected 
under  the  supervision  of  the  Woman's  Chris- 
tian Temperance  Union,  of  which  Miss  Frances 
Willard  is  President,  and  is  devoted  to  all  the 
purposes  in  which  female  organizations  are  in- 
terested. The  building  is  fifteen  stories  in 
height  and  the  architecture  is  superb.  Lady 
visitors  will  find  it  more  than  worth  their  while 
to  inspect  it. 

The  Permanent  Art  building,  now  in  course 
of  erection  on  the  Lake  Front,  on  the  site  of  the 
old  Exposition  building,  is  to  take  the  place  of 


143 

the  old  Art  Institute,  corner  of  Michigan  ave- 
nue and  Van  Buren  street,  recently  purchased 
by  the  Chicago  club.  The  structure  has  a 
frontage  of  320  feet  on  Michigan  avenue,  a 
length  of  178  feet  and  a  depth  of  208,  with  a 
main  entrance  facing  Adams  street.  In  it( 
when  complete,  will  be  found  as  fine  an  art  col- 
lection as  any  on  the  American  continent,  upon 
which  the  visitor  or  student  may  spend  hours 
in  meditative  gazing.  The  World's  Fair  di- 
rectory contributed  $200,000  toward  the  erection 
of  the  building,  $2 7 5,000  more  was  raised  by  the 
sale  of  the  old  building,  and  $125,000  by  private 
subscription.  The  structure,  when  completed 
and  filled  to  the  satisfaction  of  its  projectors, 
will  be  one  of  the  sights  of  Chicago. 

There  are  many  other  features  that  might  be 
mentioned  as  embracing  the  workings  of  Chris- 
tian influence  upon  the  mighty  and  ever-increas- 
ing population  of  the  city,  but  those  mentioned 
will  suffice.  There  are  a  hundred  avenues 
open  to  peaceful  enjoyment  for  old  and  young, 
rich  and  poor. 

It  is  possible  to  spend  any  length  of  time  in 
this  city,  and  enjoy  yourself  in  a  quiet,  unos- 
tentatious and  perfectly  moral  way  without  be- 
ing contaminated  by  the  evil  that  confessedly 
exists  in  certain  spots. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


THE    PARKS    AND    BOULEVARDS. 

SO  much  space  hav- 
ing been  devoted,  not 
without  reason,  to  the 
attractions  of  Chicago 
after  the  evening 
shadows  have  fallen, 
it  is  with  a  feeling  of 
pleasure  that  one  turns 
to  the  charms  of  the 
city  by  day.  If  there 
is  a  city  in  the  world 
calculated  to  offer  the 
tourists  opportunities 
for  pleasure  in  the  day- 
time it  is  Chicago.  It 
is  natural,  perhaps,  in  considering  these  oppor- 
tunities, to  refer  to  the  parks  and  boulevards  of 
Chicago,  which,  as  good  judges  of  such  matters 
have  said,  constitute  a  whole  host  of  attractions 
in  themselves. 

The  park  system  of  Chicago  is  something 
upon  which  the  city  prides  itself  perhaps  more 
highly  than  on  anything  else.  There  is  no  city  in 
the  world  that  contains  smch  a  complete  system 


145 

of  breathing-places  for  the  people  as   is  to  be 
found  in  this  one.     The  parks  of    Chicago  em- 
brace a  total  area  of  2,074  acres,  which  is  exclu- 
sive of   grounds    covered   by  park  boulevards. 
The  park  system  makes  the  circuit  of  the  city, 
being  connected   by  boulevards  and  embracing 
a  total  length  of  perhaps  40  miles.     The  system 
is   divided    into    three    divisions,    each    one    of 
which  is  under  the  control  of  park  commission- 
ers,  which   commissioners    are  elected  by   the 
courts.     There  are  therefore  three  separate  or 
distinct     government    bodies:  the    South    park 
commissioners,  the  North  park  commissioners 
and  the   West  park  commissioners,  who   care 
for  the  territories  under  their  control,  which  are 
maintained  by  a  tax  upon  the   three   divisions 
of  the   city  above  signified.     The  city  govern- 
ment    maintains     the   control    over    numerous 
small  parks  or  squares,  which   are   maintained 
by   the  city  treasury.     All  of  the  great  parks 
are  easy  of  access,  being  easily  reached  by  any 
of  the  cable  lines  at  the  rate  of  five  cents  per 
passenger.       South    park,    Jackson    park    and 
Washington  park  may  be  speedily  reached  by 
the  Illinois  Central  at   the  rate  of   25   cents  for 
the  round  trip. 

Chicago's  boast  that  it  possesses  the  finest 
parks  of  any  city  in  the  world  will  be  found  on 
investigation  to  be  borne  out  by  the  facts.  The 


146 

area  of  territory  under  care  and  cultivation,  the 
artistic  manner  in  which  the  grounds  are  laid 
out  and  the  general  excellence  of  the  tout  en- 
semble so  provided  cannot  be  rivaled  by  any 
of  the  cities  in  the  Old  World.  It  is  not  proposed 
in  this  modest  work  to  give  a  technical  description 
of  the  various  parks  of  the  city,  but  rather  to 
convey  a  general  idea  of  the  natural  and  arti- 
ficial beauties  to  be  found  within  their  limits. 
On  summer  nights,  when  the  hot  air  of  the 
streets  drives  the  crowds  from  the  business 
district  to  seek  a  refuge  or  breathing-place,  the 
cars  that  lead  to  the  various  parks  are  thronged 
to  the  guards  with  people  whose  only  universal 
desire  is  to  get  away  to  some  cool  spot  where 
they  may  enjoy  a  gentler  atmosphere,  with  per- 
haps a  cool  breeze  thrown  in. 

Of  the  many  parks  of  which  the  city  boasts 
Lincoln  park  is  perhaps  the  most  popular. 
This,  perhaps,  is  because  it  is  nearest  to  the 
business  centre  and  is  also  one  of  the  largest, 
situated,  as  it  is,  on  the  very  shore  of  Lake 
Michigan  and  stretching  from  Diversey  street  on 
the  north  to  North  avenue  on  the  south,  being 
bounded  on  the  west  by  Clark  street. 

Lincoln  park  is  reached  from  the  south  by 
the  Lake  Shore  drive,  which  is  already  the  fin- 
est boulevard  drive  in  Chicago,  and  which,  when 
it  extends,  as  is  promised,  to  the  military  post 


at  Ft.  Sheridan,  will    be  unequaled  in    all    the 
world.     The  drive  proper  commences  at  North 
side   water    works   on    Pine   street    and    skims 
along  the  lake   to  the  northern   extremities   of 
the  park  itself,  connecting  at  the  park's  north- 
ern most  end  with  the  Sheridan  drive,  which, 
when  complete,  will    extend   a   distance  of    25 
miles   along    the    lake.     Along    this    drive   are 
grouped  some  of  the  finest  private  mansions  of 
which    the   city  can    boast.     Noticeable  among 
these  is  the  home  of  Potter  Palmer,  the  proprie- 
tor of  the  Palmer  House,  whose  wife  occupies 
the  proud  position  of  president  of    the  Board 
of  Lady   Managers  of  the  World's  Fair.     The 
Palmer  castle,  as  it  is  called,  is   a  giant  struc- 
ture of  dark-gray  stone  and  its  towers  and  tur- 
rets  present     an     appearance  very    little    less 
imposing   than    the  ancient  castles  of  the  Old 
World.     The  Palmer  castle   is  pointed   out   to 
the  visitors  as  one  of  the  sights  of  the  city.     On 
the  right  side  of  the  drive  is  a  strong  embank- 
ment   surmounted   by    a    wall    of    solid    stone, 
against  which   the  waves  beat  ceaselessly.     On 
bright  days  tho-  drive   is   fairly   thronged  with 
brilliant    equipages  and  the  sight  is  a  very  gay 
one.      A     boat    racing    course,    especially    de- 
signed for  regattas,  commences  just  beyond  the 
entrance  to  the  park,  being  protected  from   the 
fury  of  the  sea  by  an  outer  pier. 


148 

Lincoln  park  itself  is  about  250  acres  in  area. 
In  old  days  it  was  a  cemetery  and  the  tomb  of 
the  Couch  family  is  one  of  its  land-marks.  It 
has  been  under  state  supervision  since  the 
year  1869,  when  the  first  board  of  commission- 
ers was  appointed.  All  that  art  can  contribute 
to  nature  has  been  directed  upon  the  project 
of  beautifying  this  lovely  place,  and  the  wind- 
ing avenues,  the  glassy  lakes,  the  rich  foliage, 
the  gorgeous  beds  of  flowers  and  masses  of 
shrubs  combine  to  produce  as  attractive  a  pict- 
ure as  mortal  mind  could  conceive  or  human 
eyes  delight  in.  Aside  from  the  natural  beau- 
ties of  the  place  Lincoln  park  possesses  other 
attractions  in  the  way  of  statuary  and  a  zoolog- 
ical collection,  which  exercise  a  peculiar  charm 
for  visitors.  Notable  among  the  former  is  the 
Grant  monument,  facing  Lake  Michigan  on  the 
Lake  Shore  drive,  the  cost  of  which  was  $100,000, 
the  same  being  defrayed  by  popular  subscription. 
There  is  also  the  Lincoln  statue,  by  St.  Gaud- 
ens,  which  faces  the  main  entrance  and  was 
presented,  together  with  a  drinking  fountain,  by 
the  late  Eli  Bates,  statue  and  fountain  costing 
$50,000.  Other  monumental  works,  notably  the 
Indian  Group  in  bronze,  presented  by  the  late 
Martin  Ryerson;  the  La  Salle  monument,  pre- 
sented by  Lambert  Tree;  the  Schiller  monu- 
ment, erected  by  German  residents  of  Chi- 


149 

cago,  and  the  Linne  monument,  erected  by  the 
Swedish  residents  of  Chicago,  are  to  be  found 
at  various  points  of  the  park.  There  are  also 
magnifient  conservatories,  in  the  flowery  mazes 
of  which  the  visitor  may  wander  at  will,  feast- 
ing his  senses  on  beauties  there  to  be  found.  A 
feature  of  Lincoln  park  is  the  new  palm  house 
just  erected,  the  dimensions  of  which  are  168 
by  70  feet,  with  a  rear  extension,  and  in  which 
every  variety  of  tropical  palm  will  be  exhibited. 
The  cost  of  this  structure  was  #60,000  and  it 
will  well  repay  a  visit. 

From  Lincoln  park  tq  Douglas  park  is  a 
long  jump,  but  for  the  sake  of  continuity  that 
jump  may  be  appropriately  taken,  for  the  West 
sjde  parks  come  next  in  importance  to  Lincoln 
park  when  one  is  considering  the  entire  system. 
The  area  of  Douglas  park  is  180  acres.  It  is 
situated  in  a  northwesterly  direction  four  miles 
from  the  Court  House,  being  bounded  on  the 
north  by  i2th  street,  on  the  west  by  Albany 
avenue  and  on  the  south  by  W.  igth  street. 
The  1 2th  street  cars  take  the  passenger  to  the 
very  gates  of  the  park.  Douglas  park  is  loca- 
ted in  a  neighborhood  which  some  years  ago 
was  almost  entirely  destitute  of  residences,  but 
within  the  last  few  years  it  has  been  built  up 
to  such  an  extent  that  those  who  saw  the 
neighborhood  in  the  days  of  its  primitiveness 


ISO 

would  scarcely  recognize  it  now.  The  people 
who  live  in  that  neighborhood  have  great  affec- 
tion for  Douglas  park,  which  is  artistically  laid 
out  and  very  skillfully  cultivated.  There  is  a 
large  lake  with  a  boat-house  and  refectory.  It 
has  also  an  artesian  well  whose  waters  are  said 
to  contain  fine  medicinal  properties. 

The  chief  park  of  the  West  side,  however,  is 
Garfield  park,  which  is  reached  by  the  W. 
Madison  street  cable  cars,  being  situated  four 
miles  directly  west  of  the  court  house.  It  is 
bounded  by  Lake  street  on  the  north,  Madison 
street  on  the  south,  extending  a  mile  and  a  half 
west  from  Washington  boulevard.  In  order  to 
drive  to  Garfield  park  one  may  traverse  Wash- 
ington boulevard,  which,  lined  as  it  is  with  fine 
residences,  is  one  of  the  prettiest  and  most  at- 
tractive to  be  found  in  the  whole  city.  It  is  an 
exceedingly  well  paved  boulevard  and  on  cer- 
tain occasions,  when  the  police  are  not  too  vigi- 
lant, some  smart  brushes  between  the  rival 
owners  of  fast  horses  are  occasionally  to  be 
seen  on  its  broad  stretch  of  smooth  road-way. 
This  park  was  not  always  known  as  Garfield; 
its  first  name  was  Central  park,  but  this  was 
changed  in  honor  to  the  memory  of  the  mar- 
tyred president.  The  park  itself  is  picturesque 
beyond  measure,  its  drives  and  promenades 
being  laid  out  in  such  a  manner  as  to  cater  to 


15* 

the  most  exacting  of  tastes.  Among  its  fea- 
tures may  be  mentioned  a  handsome  fountain, 
the  gift  of  Mrs.  Mancel  Talcott,  and -an  arte- 
sian well  200  feet  deep,  which  discharges  mineral 
water  at  the  rate  of  150  gallons  per  hour. 
Beautiful  as  Garfield  park  is  at  the  present 
writting  it  bids  fair  within  the  next  few  years 
to  be  advanced  to  an  even  more  perfect  state. 
The  people  of  the  West  side  are  determined 
that  it  shall  be  one  of  the  handsomest  parks 
in  the  city,  and  are  sparing  no  efforts  to  make 
it  so.  The  West  side  cable  cars  reach  a  ter- 
minus at  this  point,  but  connecting  with  them 
is  an  electric  line  which  carries  passengers  out 
to  the  town  of  Cicero,  through  the  suburbs  of 
Austin  and  Oak  Parks,  at  the  uniform  fare  of 
5  cents. 

Humboldt  park  is  another  West  side  breath- 
ing-place in  which  the  residents  of  the  locality 
in  which  it  is  situated  take  especial  pride.  Its 
area  is  200  acres  and  it  lies  four  miles  north- 
west from  the  court  house,  being  bounded  on  the 
south  by  Augusta  street,  on  the  east  by  N. 
California  avenue,  on  the  west  by  N.  Kedzie 
avenue,  and  on  the  north  by  W.  North  ave- 
nue. Humboldt  park  is  beautifully  laid  out 
and  its  trees,  shrubs  and  flowers  are  of  superb 
beauty.  It  has  a  fine  conservatory  and  an  arte- 
sian well  1,155  ^eet  deep. 


152 

The  South  side  park  system  is  the  most  com- 
plete of  any  in  the  city,  and  it  monopolizes  the 
favor  of  visitors  who  desire  to  make  a  speedy 
circuit  of  the  three  handsomest  parks  in  the 
town  within  the  short  space  of  half  a  day.  The 
system  of  boulevards  leading  to  these  parks 
cannot  be  equaled  in  the  whole  world.  Michi- 
gan avenue  boulevard,  which  commences  at 
Jackson  street  and  the  Lake  Front,  is  the  open 
sesame  to  a  drive  as  delicious  as  the  most  exact- 
ing soul  can  desire.  This  street  is  one  hundred 
feet  wide  from  curb  to  curb  and  skirts  the  Lake 
Front  park  at  its  commencement.  Speeding 
up  Michigan  avenue,  in  whatever  sort  of  con- 
veyance the  taste  of  the  tourist  may  select,  a 
fine  view  is  obtained  of  some  of  the  finest  resi- 
dences to  be  found  in  the  whole  city,  many  of 
whose  millionaires  have  built  palatial  homes  at 
distances  greater  or  less  from  the  business  dis- 
trict. Michigan  avenue  proper  extends  south  to 
35th  street.  At  35th  street  commence  two 
boulevards,  Drexel  boulevard  and  Grand  boule- 
vard. Drexel  boulevard  commences  at  Oak- 
wood  and  the  junction  of  Cottage  Grove  avenue 
and  39th  street,  and  has  a  double  drive-way 
200  feet  wide,  having  in  its  centre  a  wide  strip 
of  turf  dotted  with  shrubs  and  flowering  plants, 
and  at  its  western  side  a  soft  track  for  eques- 
trians. It  was  named  after  the  Messrs.  Drexel, 


153 

the  famous  bankers  of  Philadelphia,  who,  in  ap- 
preciation of  the  compliment  thus  bestowed, 
have  erected  a  fine  bronze  fountain  at  the  in- 
tersection of  Drexel  avenue.  Grand  boulevard 
is  a  very  similar  stretch  of  road-way  in  all  re- 
spects. It  runs  south  from  35th  street,  where 
South  Park  avenue  joins  that  thoroughfare,  and 
forms  the  northwestern  entrance  to  Washing- 
ton park.  It  also  presents  a  beautiful  road-way 
for  driving  and  has  a  side  strip  for  equestrians, 
with  flower  beds,  shrubs  and  green  turf  on  either 
side.  Both  of  these  boulevards  are  dotted  by 
magnificent  private  residences,  the  chosen 
homes  of  the  wealthiest  class  in  the  city. 
They  form  dual  entrances  to  the  circuit  of  bou- 
levards leading  to  the  famous  Washington  park 
race-track,  of  which  mention  will  be  found  in 
another  chapter. 

Washington  park,  then,  is  entered  from  the 
beautiful  drive-way  on  Drexel  boulevard,  is  most 
delightfully  situated  a  little  over  a  mile  from 
Lake  Michigan  and  nearly  seven  miles  south- 
east from  the  court  house,  being  bounded  on 
the  west  and  north  by  Cottage  Grove  avenue 
and  5ist  street,  on  the  south  by  6oth  street, 
In  the  opinion  of  many  people  it  is  the  finest  of 
all  of  Chicago's  parks,  being  371  acres  in  area, 
its  floral  beauties  and  its  charms  of  hillocks, 
shrubbery,  woods  and  water  being  almost  be- 


'54 

yond  description.  There  is  a  great  play-ground 
100  acres  in  extent,  upon  which  any  one  is  free 
to  indulge  in  any  sort  of  athletic  game  that 
fancy  may  dictate,  also  a  large  lake  upon  which 
boating  may  be  indulged.  There  is  also  a 
splendid  conservatory,  in  which  many  rare 
flowers  of  all  lands  may  be  viewed  at  any  time. 
The  floral  display  is  in  charge  of  a  great  army 
of  skilled  gardeners,  who  change  the  designs 
from  season  to  season  and  always  manage  to 
turn  out  something  new. 

Jackson  park  proper,  the  extreme  southern 
part  of  which  has  been  selected  as  the  site  for 
the  World's  Fair,  lies  about  eight  miles  south- 
east of  the  court  house,  being  bounded  as  fol- 
lows: on  the  west  by  Stony  Island  avenue,  on 
the  north  by  56th  street,  on  the  south  by  6;th 
street  and  on  the  west  by  the  blue  waters  of  Lake 
Michigan.  The  works  incident  td  the  prepara- 
tion for  the  World's  Fair  include  the  excavating 
and  dredging  of  the  little  lakes  connected  with 
Lake  Michigan.  The  preparations  for  the  Fair 
have  not  materially  interfered  with  the  north- 
ern portion  of  the  park,  the  major  portion  of 
which  is  devoted  to  a  huge  play-ground  which 
is  utilized  all  through  the  summer  by  the  de- 
votees of  tennis,  base-ball  and  cricket,  or  by  the 
militia  as  a  parade  ground.  Surrounding  this 
open  expanse  of  turf  are  beautiful  wooded  ave- 


155 

nues,  while  on  the  east  side  is  a  sea  wall  and 
promenade  from  which  a  superb  view  may  be 
had  of  the  lake.  Midway  north  and  south  in 
the  park,  on  the  very  edge  of  the  water,  is  a 
large  stone  pavilion,  in  which  thousands  of 
people  may  find  shelter  in  rainy  weather,  and 
which  is  sometimes  used  for  dances  and  other 
festivities  during  the  summer  months. 

Visitors  who  desire  to  make  a  circuit  of  the 
South  park  system  cannot  do  better  than  patron- 
ize the  phaetons  which  start  every  few  minutes 
from  the  northern  terminus  of  Drexel  boulevard 
and  make  the  circuit  in  about  one  hour,  the 
charge  for  which  is  25  cents. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  in  case  the  visi- 
tor desires  to  make  the  circuit  of  all  the  parks 
in  a  day  the  chain  of  boulevards  extends  com- 
pletely around  the  city.  It  is  impossible  to 
lose  one's  way  and  the  merest  hint  at  a  desire 
for  information  at  any  point  of  the  journey  will 
meet  with  the  readiest  response.  In  addition 
to  the  parks  herein  described  there  are  a  num- 
ber of  smaller  pretensions,  mere  breathing-pla- 
ces, scattered  about  the  city,  that,  while  not 
affording  much  opportunity  for  study,  will, 
nevertheless,  be  found  to  greatly  enhance  the 
attractions  of  the  journey.  The  scene  in  any 
of  the  great  parks,  particularly  at  night,  when 
they  are  filled  with  pleasure-seekers,  will  be 


1 56 

found  to  be  well  worth  investigation.  At  that 
time  there  are  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  people 
to  be  found,  all'bent  upon  the  enjoyment  of  the 
hour  and  determined  to  console  themselves  so 
far  as  they  may  for  the  trials  and  vexations  of 
the  day.  The  moon  is  shedding  an  indulgent 
light  down  upon  the  merry-makers  as  they 
stroll  to  and  fro  in  laughing  groups  beneath 
the  whispering  trees.  There  is  light,  mirth, 
laughter  everywhere,  and  the  merriment  of  the 
idling  wanderers  is  echoed  from  time  to  time 
by  the  rippling  of  the  water  as  it  laps  upon  the 
sandy  shore.  It  is  indeed  a  pleasant  picture. 
Far  away  in  the  distance,  separated  by  only  a 
few  miles  of  dusty  roads,  is  the  great  city,  teem- 
ing with  life,  turmoil  and  wickedness.  Here 
all  is  peace.  The  air  is  soft  and  balmy,  the 
spirits  of  the  merry-makers  are  at  their  high- 
est without  being  vexed  either  by  the  recollec- 
tion of  the  tumult  of  the  day  or  care  for  the 
morrow.  The  benison  of  night,  assisted  by  the 
art  of  mankind,  is  perhaps  responsible  for  the 
beauty  of  the  scene  and  the  spirit  of  happiness 
and  content  that  prevails.  Visit  any  of  the 
parks  on  a  hot  summer  night  for  an  hour  or 
two,  when  all  the  world  is  devoted  to  calm  re- 
laxation, and  see  if  you  do  not  subscribe  to  the 
sentiment. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


RACING. 


THE   national   love   of    horse- 

i  •  i  •  •      •    • 

racing,  which  is  growing  in  intensity 

f  year  by  year,  finds  no- 
where a  better  ground 
for  development  than 


in  Chicago.  There  are  in  ac- 
:  tive  operation  in  this  city  dur- 
ing the  months  of  summer  and 
'i  autumn  three  admirably 
equipped  race  tracks,  where  the 
fleetest  horses  in  the  world  are 
entered  in  daily  contests  for  fat 
purses.  Attached  to  each  are  commodious 
betting-rings,  where  the  spectator  may  indulge 
in  any  size  of  wager  he  desires,  from  a  dollar 
upward.  On  any  fine  day  during  the  summer 
the  roads  leading  to  the  tracks  are  thronged  with 
gay  equipages,  which  add  spirit  to  a  scene 
always  varied  and  beautiful.  Two  of  these 
tracks  are  located  on  the  West  side,  one  at 
Hawthorne  (Corrigan's)  and  the  other  at  the 
western  extremity  of  Garfield  park  (the  Gar- 
field  Racing  Association).  The  other,  and  by 
far  the  most  famous  of  the  three,  is  the  Wash- 


1 58 

ington  Park  Club,  at  the  southern  end  of 
Washington  park.  The  Washington  Park 
Club,  under  whose  auspices  the  races  there  are 
given  each  year,  is  a  somewhat  aristocratic 
organization,  composed  of  a  number  of  the  well- 
to-do  citizens  of  Chicago.  The  commodious 
club-house  occupies  a  commanding  position  to  the 
west  of  the  grand  stand  and  admission  thereto 
is  confined  to  members  and  their  friends.  To 
the  grand  stand  and  enclosure  adjoining,  the 
public  is  admitted  at  a  charge  of  one  dollar 
per  head.  The  betting-ring  is  under  the  grand 
stand,  and,  from  the  fact  that  one  hundred 
book-makers  are  sometimes  doing  business  there- 
at the  same  time  and  paying  the  club  $100  per 
day  apiece  for  the  privilege,  it  may  be  inferred 
that  the  industry  is  highly  profitable. 

The  races  given  every  year  at  this  beautiful 
track  are  famous  the  country  over.  They  com- 
mence early  in  the  month  of  June  with  the 
American  Derby,  a  race  for  three-year-olds, 
for  which  a  stake  of  over  $20,000  in  value  is  an- 
nually hung  up.  Derby  day  is  one  of  the 
events  of  the  year  in  Chicago.  Every  vehicle 
capable  of  transporting  two  or  more  people  to 
the  pleasure  ground  is  bespoken  for  weeks  be- 
forehand. Along  Michigan  avenue  the  gay 
cavalcade  goes — tally-hos  with  their  freight  oi 
gallant  knights  and  ladies  fair;  wagonettes, 


159 

dog-carts,  man  phaetons,  with  their  clanking 
chains  and  glossy  steeds;  tandems,  cocking- 
carts — the  new  fashionable  vehicle  drawn  by 
three  horses  abreast — down  to  the  simplest  and 
most  democratic  of  conveyances.  Away  they 
go,  and  every  window  along  the  route  contains 
its  group  of  people  who,  while  not  going  to  the 
Derby  themselves,  intend  to  see  the  best  part 
of  the  show.  For  hours  the  procession  con- 
tinues, the  vehicles  turning  from  Michigan  ave- 
nue into  the  boulevards  and  then  winding  into 
the  parks,  to  emerge  presently  at  the  great  gate- 
way of  the  tracks  and  unload  their  pleasure- 
seeking  occupants. 

The  scene  when  the  bell  is  rung  for  the  great 
race  is  one  which  impresses  itself  on  the  mind 
beyond  all  possibility  of  effacement.  Specta- 
tors are  packed  in  the  paddock  like  sardines  in 
a  box.  The  grand  stand  is  a  solid  mass  of  men 
and  women,  the  toilets  of  the  latter  presenting  a 
brilliant  picture  in  the  gorgeous  sunlight.  In 
the  centre  of  the  great  in-field,  as  it  is  called, 
jockeys  and  stable  boys  are  walking  about,  and 
scattered  here  and  there  are  some  of  the  noble 
brutes  that  are  to  take  part  in  the  day's  contest. 
The  horses  come  on  the  track  and  a  buzz 
sweeps  over  the  vast  assemblage  as  they  go 
cantering  to  the  post.  A  few  minutes  of  sur- 
pense  and  then— "They're  off!"  cries  the  crowd 


i6o 

and  past  the  grand  stand  they  sweep  like  a 
splendid  troop  of  cavalry,  the  jockeys  sitting 
like  statues  on  the  struggling  beasts,  each  one 
of  which  is  animated  by  an  almost  human  de- 
termination to  conquer  in  the  struggle.  A  mo- 
ment more  and  it  is  over,  and  a  roar  goes  up  as 
the  winner  sweeps  past  the  judge's  stand.  The 
great  Derby  has  been  lost  for  some  and  won 
by  others.  After  the  subsequent  and  lesser 
races  are  over  the  cavalcade  sweeps  back  to  the 
city  again,  the  winners  shouting  and  singing  for 
joy  and  the  losers  solemn  in  their  silence. 

The  Washington  park  meeting  lasts  till  the 
latter  part  of  July.  The  present  officers  of  the 
club  are  as  follows:  President,  George  Henry 
Wheeler;  vice-presidents,  Samuel  W.  Allerton, 
Albert  S.  Gage,  H.  I.  McFarland,  Charles 
Schwartz;  treasurer,  John  R.  Walsh;  secretary, 
John  E.  Brewster;  assistant  secretary,  James 
Howard;  directors,  N.  K.  Fairbank,  Norman 
B.  Ream,  Samuel  W.  Allerton,  James  W.  Oak- 
ley, Columbus  R.  Cummings,  Charles  I.  Barnes, 
John  R.  Walsh,  Henry  Norton,  A.  S.  Gage,  S. 
H.  Sweet,  G.  H.  Wheeler,  Thomas  Murdock, 
H.  J.  McFarland,  C.  J.  Singer,  and  others. 

The  Garfield  park  and  Corrigan  tracks  com- 
mence operation  at  the  close  of  the  Washington 
park  meeting.  The  gatherings  at  these  tracks 
are  by  no  means  so  aristocratic,  but  the  purses  off- 


ered  are  rich  and  the  racing  is  of  the  first  quality. 
The  betting  facilities  are  ample.  For  a  while 
the  admission  to  the  Corrigan  track  was  free, 
but  it  is  a  question  whether  the  practice  will  be 
followed  in  future. 

At  present  Chicago  is  one  of  the  liveliest 
racing  centers  in  the  country  during  the  season 
and  the  visitor  who  desires  to  see  a  little  of  this 
exciting  sport  will  find  the  amplest  facilities  at 
his  command  for  so  doing. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


OPEN-AIR    ENTERTAINMENTS. 

UNDER  this  head  come 
the  open-air  shows  of  dif- 
ferent dimensions,  one  or 
more  of  which  are  always 
running  in  Chicago  during 
the  summer  months.  Last 
year  Thearle  &  Cooper  gave 
the  public  a  treat  with  an 
entertainment  that  they 
styled  "A  Night  in  Pekin." 
\  The  location  was  the  great 
vacant  lot  at  the  southern  limit  of  Washington 
Park,  across  the  street  from  the  race-track  of 
that  name.  Tiers  upon  tiers  ot  seats  acom- 
modated  thousands  of  spectators,  who  watched 
the  drama,  enacted  in  pantomime,  of  the  de- 
struction of  the  city  of  Pekin  by  the  British 
naval  forces.  The  work  of  desolation  was  pre- 
ceded by  games,  slack-wire  walking  and  other 
interesting  feats.  The  bombardment  itself  was 
a  magnificent  spectacle.  As  the  big  buildings 
came  toppling  down  in  ruins  and  the  inhabi- 
tants rushed  screaming  about,  showers  upon 
showers  of  fire-works  were  discharged  and  the 


roaring  of  the  great  guns  kept  up  until  the 
work  of  demolition  was  over.  It  was  conceded 
atthetimethatthe  spectacle,fromapyrotechnical 
standpoint,  was  the  finest  ever  seen  in  Chicago, 
but  from  all  accounts  the  shows  to  be  given 
this  year  and  next  will  eclipse  it.  For  the 
World's  Fair  year  the  Kiralfys,  those  consum- 
mate masters  of  the  spectacular,  have  promised 
a  production  on  the  same  order  as  the  "Night 
in  Pekin"  that  shall  totally  eclipse  anything  in 
the  line  of  an  open-air  show  ever  before  seen  or 
heard  of.  Its  exact  nature  has  not  yet  been 
outlined,  but  if  all  the  promises  are  kept  it  will 
be  something  very  wonderful. 

The  attractions  of  this  sort  of  an  entertain- 
ment are  manifold.  Aside  from  the  show  itself, 
which  is  always  interesting,  there  is  the  pleas- 
ant, happy-go-lucky  spirit  that  always  pervades 
great  crowds  bent  on  an  evening's  fun.  The 
peanut  and  lemonade  venders  ply  their  calling 
briskly,  and  come  in  for  the  usual  share  of  "guy- 
ing" that  such  merchants  always  excite.  In  hot 
weather  the  out-door  spectacles  detract  from  the 
attendance  at  the  theatres,  people  preferring  to 
secure  their  entertainment  in  the  open  air  if 
possible.  Spectacles  like  "Pekin,"  it  is  perhaps 
unnecessary  to  say,  cost  many  thousands  of  dol- 
lars to  produce. 

Speaking  of  the  peanut   and  lemonade   men 


164 


reminds  one  that  the  two  great  circuses,  Bar- 
num  &  Bailey's  and  Forepaugh's,  exhibit  in 
Chicago  every  summer.  They  generally  appear 
for  two  weeks  each,  and  of  course  parade  in 
due  form,  according  to  custom,  through  the 


streets  of  the  city  on 
Who  shall  picture 
circus  ?  Are  they 
memory  of 


the  opening  day. 
the  delights  of  the 
not  as  old  as  the 
Strange  but  true  it 
is,  that  the  older  we 
get  the  circus  that 
we  remember  as 
the  circus  of  our 
youth  strengthens 
its  charm  upon  our 
memory  and  we 
would  not  miss  a  sight  of 
it  if  we  could.  We  have 
the  added  pleasure  of  tak- 
ing our  little  ones  to  see 
the  sights  that  so  de- 
lighted us  in  our  own  child- 
hood, and  that  should  be 
the  keenest  pleasure  of  all. 
A  summer  rarely  passes  without  a  succession 
of  smaller  shows  in  the  open  air,  such  as  balloon 
ascensions,  bicycle  races,  cricket  and  base-ball 
matches  and  so  on.  There  is  a  resort  known 
as  Cheltenham  Beach,  a  strip  of  sand  twelve 
miles  from  the  City  Hall  .reached  by  the  Illinois 


i65 

Central  railway  and  known  as  "The  Coney 
Island  of  the  West,"  although  it  has  never 
touched  the  real  Coney  Island  in  point  of  pros- 
perity. At  Cheltenham  Beach  there  is  always 
a  show  of  some  sort  going  on.  It  may  be  ath- 
letics. It  may  be  a  broad-sword  combat  be- 
tween mounted  gladiators.  It  may  be  an  as- 
cent by  a  parachute  artist,  a  nervy  gentleman 
who  soars  a  thousand  feet  in  the  air  in  a  balloon 
and  then  descends  gracefully  to  the  earth  (at  the 
imminent  and  exhilarating  risk  of  his  neck) 
under  a  parachute  to  which  he  clings 'by  a  thin 
trapeze  bar.  This  is  a  hair-raising  exhibition 
frequently  seen  and  quite  often  ending,  in  the 
maiming  for  life  of  the  hardy  aerial  navigator. 
At  Cheltenham  Beach,  however,  everything 
"goes,"  as  it  were,  and  nobody  ever  complains 
unless  it  is  on  account  of  the  small  amount  of 
beer  doled  out  tor  the  conventional  nickel.  Oc- 
casionally they  have  barbecues  and  clam-bakes 
at  Cheltenham  Beach,  which,  though  at  times 
enjoyable,  are  not  exactly  the  class  of  entertain- 
ment to  which  one  would  invite  the  ladies  of 
his  family. 

There  are  always  vast  crowds  of  people  in 
Chicago  athirst  for  amusement.  That  is  why 
amusement  caterers  grow  so  rich  when  they 
give  good  shows.  It  has  been  the  purpose  of 
the  present  chapter  to  show  that  there  is  plenty 
of  amusement  to  be  found  out-of-doors. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

AN    IDEAL    AFTERNOON. 


THE  charms  of  Chicago 
as  a  summer  resort  have  been 
sung  ever  since  one  can  remem- 
ber. No  matter  how  sultry  the  at- 
mosphere in  the  down-town  district,  there  is 
generally  a  cool  breeze  from  the  lake  to  tem- 
per the  fierceness  of  the  sun  if  one  can  only 
get  where  it  is  blowing.  It  is  the  purpose  of 
the  present  chapter  to  describe  how  a  simply 
ideal  afternoon  may  be  spent,  provided  the 
weather  is  suitable,  by  a  drive  along  the  north 
shore,  taking  in  two  well-known  summer  resorts 
in  the  journey. 

About  three  in  the  afternoon  is  a  good  time 
to  start.  By  that  time  the  sun  has  moved  well 
around  toward  the  western  heavens  and  the 
extremity  of  its  fierceness  has  departed.  Let 
it  be  understood  for  the  sake  of  illustration 
that  the  traveler  has  secured  a  companion  foi 


i67 

the  journey — for  who  likes  to  go  driving  alone, 
I  should  like  to  know? — and  this  makes  him 
seem  so  much  the  better  natured  when  he  asks 
the  hotel  clerk  to  procure  him  from  some  first- 
class  livery  stable  the  particular  sort  of  a  rig  he 
may  fancy.  It  may  be  either  a  modest  one- 
horse  buggy,  a  high-wheeled  cart  (if  it  is  de- 
sired to  make  an  attempt  at  style),  a  mail-phae- 
ton with  a  spanking  team,  or  any  one  of  half 
a  dozen  other  styles  of  conveyance  to  be  had 
at  short  notice.  It  may  even  happen  that  he 
has  secured  a  lady  companion  for  the  trip,  and 
if  so,  the  lucky  dog  is  to  be  envied,  eh?  Who 
does  not  know  how  much  more  pleasure  is  at- 
tached to  the  task  of  holding  the  ribbons  when 
one's  left  elbow  is  continually  jolting  against 
the  shoulder  of  a  pretty  woman  at  one's  side. 

The  start  is  made  in  due  season.  The  pace 
is  necessarily  careful  up  Michigan  avenue  and 
on  to  the  big  Rush  street  bridge  (we  are  to  have 
a  mammoth  viaduct  hereabouts  some  day,  so 
"  they  say")  but  once  on  the  North  side  the  gait 
may  be  accelerated  to  a  slashing  trot,  the  smart 
pace  of  which  will  lend  an  added  color  to  the 
cheek  of  the  charmer  at  your  elbow — always 
supposing  the  companion  to  be  feminine. 
Turning  into  Dearborn  avenue  at  Ohio  street 
the  smooth  asphalt  pave  is  encountered  on 
whicli  the  hoofs  of  the  spirited  animals  sound 


1 68 

smartly.     It  is  only  a  few  minutes  until  North 
avenue  is  passed   and   Lincoln   Park  reached, 
upon  which  we  swerve  gently  to  the  right,  pass 
around  the  curves  by  Mr.  Yerkes'  great  electric 
fountain,  and  the  Lake  Shore   Drive   (referred 
to  in  a  previous   chapter)   is    reached.     Hence 
and  away  there  stretches  a  wide  and  smooth 
expanse  of  roadway  two  full   miles  straight   to 
the  northward.     The  blue  waters  of   the   lake 
are  dancing  and  sparkling  in  the  sunlight.     The 
refreshing  breeze  is  coming  straight   from   the 
east  and  rustling  the  green  foliage  of   the  trees 
on  the  left.     Is  it  any  wonder    that   the   blood 
flows  quicker  through  the  veins  and   that   the 
tug  of  the  horses  at  the  bits  produces  an  exhila- 
ration that  leads  to  a  desire  for  increased  speed? 
Even  the  beasts  feel  the  spirit  of  the  thing,  and 
dash  ahead  buoyantly  over  the  broad  roadway. 
Other  vehicles  swarm  over  the  pleasure  course 
— heavy  family   carriages,   in   which   fat    dow- 
agers are    taking    an  airing;   dog  carts  driven 
tandem  by  smart    young    men    whose    fathers 
have  big  bank  accounts,  and  here  and  there  an 
actual  exercising  cart    with  a  blooded  trotter 
between    the   shafts — it    all  makes   up    a   gay 
panorama    and     the    probabilities    are    that    if 
you  are  human  you  will  let  out  a  link   in    the 
lines  and  indulge  in  a  wee  bit  of  a   race  just  to 
see  if  the  horseflesh  you  are  in  charge  of  is  not 


just  a  little  better  than  the  next  man's.  This 
will  go  all  right  until  the  mounted  park  police- 
man motions  you  to  moderate  your  pace.  His 
mandate  must  be  obeyed  or  an  arrest  and  fine 
will  be  the  result.  The  policemen  are  some- 
times conveniently  blind,  however,  and  some- 
times enjoy  a  bit  9f  a  brush  as  much'  as  any- 
body, but  really  .furious  driving  is  against 
the  law  and  will  not  be  tolerated. 

But  the  two  miles  have  been  passed  by  this 
time  and  Diversey  street  and  the  northern  limit 
of  the  park  is  reached.  A  few  yards  further 
and  it  is  time  to  stop,  for  we  have  reached  the 
great  gateway  of  the  famous  summer  garden, 
formerly  known  as  "  Fischer's,"  but  which  is 
now  conducted  by  a  gentleman  of  another 
name.  No  matter  what  the  name  is;  it  is  still 
Fischer's  just  the  same.  Driving  through 
the  gates  into  the  grounds  a  servant  takes 
charge  of  the  team,  leaving  you  at  liberty  to 
stroll  down  to  the  covered  pavilion  which  abuts 
on  the  very  edge  of  the  lake  and  sit  and  drink 
in  the  cooling  breeze  to  your  heart's  con.tent. 
There  are  other  refreshments  that  you  may  in- 
dulge in  if  you  choose,  but  it  is  generally  con- 
ceded that  the  breeze  alone  is  worth  the  price 
of  admission. 

Fischer's  is  an  established  North  side  resort. 
Besides  being  a  favorite  objective  point  for  a 


drive  it  is  also  pleasantly  accessible  by  water. 
There  is  a  landing  for  boats,  many  of  which  ar- 
rive there  during  the  afternoon  and  evening 
hours,  freighted  with  many  young  folks  who 
laugh  and  sing  gaily  as  they  come  skimming 
over  the  water  to  the  common  haven.  On  cer- 
tain evenings  during  the  summer,  generally 
three  in  each  week,  Professor  Rosenbecker's 
orchestra  (see  Sunday  concerts)  gives  a  concert 
at  the  garden,  and  then  is  the  time  to  see  whole 
bevies  of  pretty  girls  and  women,  decked  out 
in  all  the  attractive  bravery  of  summer  attire, 
sipping  sherbet  or  lemonade  in  the  moonlight 
and  contributing  their  quota  of  charm  to  a 
scene  as  picturesque  and  brilliant  as  any  to  be 
found  in  the  West. 

The  stop  at  Fischer's,  however,  is  merely  for 
a  brief  rest  and  change  of  scene;  with  the  team 
freshly  rubbed  down  we  may  start  on  the  drive 
to  Sunnyside.  A  quarter  of  a  mile  north  of 
Fischer's  we  turn  west  to  Evanston  avenue  and 
speed  through  the  pretty  suburb  of  Lake 
View.  The  branches  of  the  trees  at  the  side 
of  the  road  will  brush  our  hats  off  as  we  go  by 
if  we  don't  look  out.  But  the  horses  spin  on- 
ward, past  neat  villas,  with  their  snow-white 
barns  in  the  rear — pictures  of  comfort;  past 
smoothly  shaven  lawns,  upon  which  young  peo- 
ple of  both  sexes  are  engaged  in  rattling  games 


of  tennis;  past  lissome  beauties  who  look  coyly 
up  from  the  hammocks  in  which  they  are  indo- 
lently reclining;  past  all  manner  of  interesting 
objects,  each  of  which  lend  their  separate  and 

special  charm  to  the 
journey.  We  are 
skimming  through 
Edgewater  presently 
— nicknamed  by  the 
irreverent  "the  dude 
town,"  by  reason 


of  its  being  so  very   spick   and    span.     Then 
a   sharp    turn    to    the    left  and  a  long  stretch 


172 

of  highway,  lined  on  one  side  by  pretty  trees. 
It  begins  to  look  like  the  country  at  last,  for 
here  are  some  fields  in  which  thrifty  husband- 
men and  their  wives  are  at  work.  A  rattle  and 
a  thud  as  we  cross  the  railroad  tracks,  the  dust 
flying  from  the  hoofs  of  our  nimble  steeds.  One 
more  sharp  turn,  a  start  into  a  private  drive- 
way, and  here  we  are  at  our  destination — Sun- 
nyside. 

One  reason,  perhaps,  why  the  summer  hotel 
— roadhouse,  some  people  call  it — named  Sun- 
nyside  is  so  popular  is  that  it  is  just  within 
comfortable  driving  distance  of  the  city.  An 
hour  and  a  half,  or  two  hours  (counting  for  the 
customary  stop  at  Fischer's)  is  the  time  allowed 
for  the  journey.  The  hotel  itself,  kept  by  the 
Dowling  family  for  years,  is  a  great  rambling 
old  wooden  building  standing  in  the  midst  of 
spacious  grounds.  A  peculiarity  of  the  place  is 
the  beautiful  independence  of  the  proprietors, 
an  independence  that  manifests  itself  in  their 
refusal  to  cater  to  the  whims  of  guests.  A  sup- 
per bill  of  fare  is  arranged  by  them.  Supper 
costs  one  dollar  per  person  served.  No  orders 
for  special  dishes  are  taken.  You  can  take 
what  is  there  or  go  without  it.  But  no  one  was 
ever  heard  to  complain  of  the  fare.  There  is 
beef-steak,  from  the  loins  of  fat  cattle  slaugh- 
tered by  old  man  Dowling  himself.  In  addi- 


173 

tion,  maybe,  there  is  a  plump  chicken  raised  in 
old  lady  Dowling's  own  poultry  yard,  and 
whose  neck  was  blithely  wrung  by  her  own  fair 
hand  that  very  morning.  There  is  green 
corn  and  ripe  tomatoes  and  young  onions  and 
other  delicacies  all  raised  on  the  Dowling  de- 
mesne, and  all  included  in  the  dollar.  If  there 
has  been  no  joke  about  it  and  you  really  are 
accompanied  by  the  charming  damsel  I  have 
hinted  at,  the  meal  is  doubtless  all  the  more 
enjoyable.  Having  youth  and  good  appetite, 
sharpened  by  the  ride,  you  can  do  justice  to  the 
homely  and  honest  fare.  You  may  have  a  little 
private  dining-room  all  to  your  two  selves,  bless 
your  dear  hearts,  and  every  two  minutes  or  so 
Mother  Dowling  will  come  bustling  into  the 
room,  eager  to  see  if  you  are  satisfied  with  the 
service  and  anxious  to  supply  any  deficiencies. 
She  is  a  sweet  old  dame,  and  if  by  the  merest 
chance  she  should  catch  you  in  the  very  act  of 
conveying  to  your  inamorata  an  idea  of  the  high 
estimation  in  which  you  hold  her — if,  indeed, 
she  should  detect  your  face  in  too  close  proxim- 
ity to  your  inamorata's  face,  her  joyous  laugh, 
strident  and  cracked  though.it  may  be  under 
the  stress  of  the  many  years  that  have  rolled 
over  her  head,  will  echo  uncannily  through  the 
corridors,  awakening  all  the  echoes  and  making 
you  wonder  if  your  fair  companion  will  look  as 
well  as  she  does  when  she  is  as  old. 


174 

Dear  old  Lady  Dowling!  Venerable  high 
priestess  of  the  quaint  old  sanctuary  of  Sunny- 
side  !  Many  a  time  and  oft,  as  the  writer  has 
heard  some  merry  party  of  noisy  but  honest  fel- 
lows, of  whom,  alasl  he  was  one,  rollout  the  rare 
old  drinking  chorus: 

"  Then  here's  to  Mrs.  Dowling, 
Drink  her  down!    Drink  her  down!" 

has  he  marvelled  at  the  fewness  of  the  wrin- 
kles upon  thy  brow — considering  all  that  thou 
hast  passed  through  in  thy  progress  through 
this  earthly  vale  of  tears. 

The  repast  concluded,  an  adjournment  to  the 
wide  verandah  is  in  order,  there  to  enjoy  a 
peaceful  smoke  and  ruminate  upon  the  experi- 
ences of  the  hour.  There  may  be  at  the  other 
end  of  the  verandah  a  party  of  frolicsome 
youths  who  have  driven  out  on  a  six-horse  tal- 
ly-ho, and  who  have  brought  their  mandolins 
and  guitars  along.  Their  songs  and  laughter 
fall  pleasantly  upon  the  balmy  air.  If  the 
songs  and  laughter  grow  wearisome  you  may 
wander  among  the  trees  and  shrubbery — and, 
always  supposing  that  fair  feminine  companion 
a  pleasant  possibility — who  may  picture  the  en- 
joyment of  such  a  stroll?  The  sly  old  moon, 
always  indulgent  enough  toward  lovers  to  shrink 
gracefully  behind  a  cloud  at  the  critical  moment, 
smiles  down  a  jocund  benediction  upon  the 


175 

scene  and  it  is  all  too  soon  that  one  is  reminded 
of  the  flight  of  time  and  that  the  proprieties 
deman'd  a  return  to  town. 

Within  three  minutes  of  signifying  a  wish  to 
that  effect  the  conveyance  is  brought  to  the 
front  door  by  a  cheery  hostler,  who  gracefully 
accepts  from  you  the  small  douceur  that  you 
may  give  him,  and  which  is  the  only  charge — 
even  that  being  voluntary — that  is  made  for  the 
entertainment  of  your  team.  A  chirrup  to  the 
horses  and  off  you  go,  the  frolicsome  youths 
upon  the  verandah  lifting  their  hats  and  gratu- 
itously wishing  you  a  pleasant  voyage  home 
as  you  speed  away. 

The  drive  back?  Well,  the  pleasure  there- 
of always  depends  upon  circumstances.  If  that 
pleasant  possibility  before  hinted  at  is  an  actu- 
ality— why,  what  is  the  use  of  picturing  it? 
Have  we  not  all,  as  it  were,  been  there  before? 
But  the  whispering  breeze,  the  ceaseless  mur- 
mur of  the  wavelets  on  the  shore  and  the  same 
old  moon  smiling  so  persistently  and  blandly 
down — form  delicious  adjuncts  to  an  experience 
that  once  enjoyed  will  not  soon  be  forgotten. 
The  spirited  horses  still  tug  lustily  at  the  lines, 
but  they  are  homeward  bound  and  you  can  afford 
them  a  little  latitude  if  the  supposititious  com- 
panion seems  to  demand  a  little  more  of  your 
attention  than  she  did  on  the  outward  journey. 


Pshaw!  What  does  it  all  matter?  It  is  only 
a  few  hours  of  pleasure,  after  all;  yet  I  think 
you  will  confess  to  me,  as  your  horses  trot  back 
over  the  Rush  street  bridge,  that  it  has  been 
an  ideal  afternoon. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


ON  THE  WATER. 

_£•-•  THE      part     Lake 

Michigan  will  play  in 
the  transportation  of 
people  to  and  from 
the  World's  Fair 
Grounds  has  not  at 
this  writing  (May,  1 892) 
been  definitely  deter- 
mined upon.  It  is  be- 
yond question,  how- 
ever, that  some  proper  arrangement  in  this  di- 
rection will  have  been  made  long  before  the 
Fair  opens,  for  it  would  seem  highly  impossi- 
ble that  the  great  facilities  for  water  transpor- 
tation should  not  be  properly  utilized. 

For  some  reason  or  other  aquatic  sports  and 
pleasures  have  not  flourished  in  Chicago  as 
they  should,  considering  the  immense  advan- 
tages in  that  direction  that  are  lying,  as  it  were, 
at  our  very  doors.  Some  people  attribute  the 
small  interest  of  the  average  Chicagoan  in 
aquatics  to  the  unstable  character  of  the  great 
sheet  of  water  known  as  Lake  Michigan — an 
unstability  which  is  shown  sometimes  in  the 


quick  gathering  of  storms.  The  lake  may  be 
shining  like  a  sheet  of  glass  one  hour,  and  in 
the  next  heaving  tumultuously  under  the 
influence  of  a  squall.  This  sort  of  thing  puts 
a  check  on  the  ambition  for  boating  to  some 
extent,  but  is  hardly  a  sufficient  reason  why 
the  sport  of  yachting — one  of  the  grandest  of 
all  sports  —should  not  flourish.  The  yachts- 
men of  New  York,  Chicago  amateur  mar- 
riners  are  fond  of  arguing,  have  infinitely 
greater  risks  to  run  in  New  York  bay  than  we 
have  in  our  harbor  and  lake,  but  yacht  clubs 
flourish  there,  and  in  fact  in  all  the  cities  on  the 
Atlantic  coast,  while  in  Chicago  the  enjoyment 
of  this  royal  sport  is  confmecf  to  a  few  enthusi- 
asts who  vainly  endeavor  to  enlist  the  sympa- 
thies of  the  multitude  in  the  pastime  they  find 
so  delightful. 

There  are  few  sailing  yachts  in  commission 
nowaday,  but  there  are  several  yacht  clubs, 
and  the  time  may  come  when  the  sport  will  be 
properly  revived  and  encouraged.  The  Chi- 
cago Yacht  Club,  whose  office  is  at  65 5  Rookery 
building,  has  many  members.  Its  officers  are 
A.  T.  Fisher,  commodore;  Harry  Duvall,  sec- 
retary; J.  W.  S.  Brawley,  treasurer.  The 
President  of  the  Countess  Yacht  Club  is  Mr. 
Sidney  W.  Woodbury,  and  the  treasurer, 
E.  W.  Herrick.  The  Countess  Yacht  Club  de- 


179 

rives  its  title  from  the  somewhat  celebrated 
craft  of  that  name.  The  Countess  is  a  magi- 
nificent  sloop,  and  the  club  is  composed  of  the 
gentlemen  who  own  her  and  take  their  enjoy- 
ment on  board  of  her.  The  Countess  was  built 
in  Canada  and  named  originally  the  Countess 
of  Dufferin,  in  honor  of  the  wife  of  the  then 
Governor-General  of  the  Dominion,  the  Earl 
of  Dufferin.  She  was  built  to  contest  for  the 
American  cup  but  did  not  succeed.  The  name 
was  changed  to  the  Countess  when  she  was 
brought  to  Chicago.  The  Countess  may  be 
seen  any  bright  summer  day  gallantly  riding 
the  waters  of  the  bay  opposite  Lake  Front 
Park.  It  is  an  enthusing  sight  to  see  her  start- 
ing bravely  out  into  the  lake  with  all  her  can- 
vas set,  heeling  gracefully  on  in  deference  to  the 
breeze.  Dozens  of  smaller  but  none  the  less 
ambitious  craft  swarm  about  her  and  endeavor  to 
keep  the  pace,  their  snow-white  sails  showing 
prettily  against  the  blue  sky.  But  the  Coun- 
tessis  too  speedy  for  them  and  out-fools  them 
all. 

Perhaps  the  most  active  yachting  organiza- 
tion in  Chicago  is  the  Lincoln  Park  Yacht  Club, 
organized  two  years  ago.  Its  list  of  officers  is 
as  follows:  Commodore,  James  J.  Wilson; 
vice  commodore,  S.  S.  Johnson;  rear-commo- 
dore, A.  E.  Back;  treasurer,  H.  A.  Paus;  sec- 
retary, C.  O.  Andrews.  This  club  posseses  an 


i8o 

advantage  inasmuch  as  the  vessels  of  its  mem- 
bers find  a  safe  haven  and  anchorage  in  the  new 
slip,  protected  by  a  break-water,  at  Lincoln 
Park,  which  has  been  constructed  especially  for 
regattas.  From  ten  to  fifteen  yachts  find  shel- 
ter here,  and  some  splendid  yacht  races  may 
be  witnessed  during  the  summer  over  what  is 
termed  the  Lincoln  Park  course,  extending 
some  five  miles  out  into  the  lake.  The  race 
is  always  made  outward  and  return,  and  the 
spectacle  is  beautiful  to  witness  when  half  a  doz- 
en of  the  fleet  craft  are  speeding  over  the  waves 
in  the  contest  for  supremacy.  The  yacht  races 
during  the  summer  naturally  heighten  the  at- 
traction of  this  most  popular  of  all  the  parks. 
There  are  many  boat  clubs.  The  Catlin 
Boat  Club  has  a  clubhouse  at  the  foot  of  Pear- 
son street,  on  the  North  side.  The  Ogden  Boat 
Club's  house  is  at  the  foot  of  Superior  street, 
half  a  mile  furthur  south.  The  Farragut  Boat 
Club  is  the  most  pretentious  of  all,  however, 
possessing  as  it  does,  in  addition  to  its  boat- 
house  at  the  foot  of  Thirty-third  street,  a  hand 
some  clubhouse  on  Lake  avenue,  just  below 
Thirty-first  street,  which  is  the  scene  of  many 
noteworthy  social  events.  The  clubhouse  con- 
tains, in  addition  to  its  comfortable  parlors 
and  reception  rooms,  a  bowling  alley,  pool- 
room and  lavatories,  while  the  upper  story  is 


devoted  to  a  dancing  hall    and  theatre  with  a 
seating  capacity  of  400. 

So  much  for  the  private  aquatic  organiza- 
tions. While  a  visitor  with  influential  friends 
finds  no  difficulty  in  securing  an  introduction 
to  any  of  them,  and  a  consequent  temporary 
share  in  their  privileges,  they  are,  of  course,  • 
more  or  less  exclusive,  and  the  reader's  interest 
will  naturally  go  to  such  provisions  as  are  made 
for  the  enjoyment  and  entertainment  of  the 
stranger  and  the  unknown. 

Down  on  the  Lake  Front,  just  across  the  Illi- 
nois Central  tracks,  will  be  found  from  ten  to 
fifteen  pretty  yachts,  owned  by  their  captains, 
who  will  take  a  party  out  for  an  hour's  sail  at 
the  rate  of  25  cents  per  hour.  In  case  there  are 
only  two  of  you  the  charge  will  be  a  dollar,  the 
owners  never  moving  out  for  less  than  that  sum. 
These  crafts  are  sound  and  seaworthy  and  in 
the  charge  of  old  sailors  whose  skill  and  nerve 
are  to  be  trusted  and  relied  upon  in  any  sort  of 
weather.  It  is  a  most  delightful  manner  of 
spending  an  hour.  When  the  heat  in  the  city 
is  stifling  and  not  a  breath  of  air  is  stirring, 
try  the  experiment  of  a  spin  over  the  blue 
waters  and  see  how  refreshing  is  the  breeze 
that  is  invariably  blowing  briskly  over  on  the 
Michigan  shore.  There  is  not  even  time  to  get 
sea-sick,  no  matter  how  violent  the  motion  of  the 


1 82 

staunqh  little  vessel,  yet  if  any  of  the  passen- 
gers should  feel  squeamish  the  captain  is 
only  too  ready  to  put  about  and  return  home. 
If  the  pleasure-seeker  prefers  steam  to  can- 
vas as  a  motive  power  he  can  take  his  choice 
between  a  trip  to  the  government  pier  or  water- 
works crib,  and  a  longer  sail  to  Jackson  or  Lin 
coin  Park.  The  fare  to  the  pier  and  back  is 
ten  cents;  the  round  trip  to  and  from  the  crib 
or  either  of  the  parks  is  25  cents.  There  are 
several  more  pretentious  vessels  that  go  out  at 
night  for  moonlight  excursions  on  the  lake. 
They  start  both  from  the  Lake  Front  and  from 
the  river,  in  the  latter  case  generally  at -the 
Clark  street  bridge.  They  always  secure  a 
large  patronage  and  there  is  generally  a  good 
time  enjoyed  by  those  who  make  up  such  ex- 
cursions. The  decks  are  crowded  with  pretty 
girls  and  their  escorts,  it  somehow  generally 
happening  that  the  girls  outnumber  the  boys, 
and,  as  a  dance  is  always  begun  the  minute 
the  vessel  is  well  out  in  the  lake,  the  pair  of 
strangers  who  have  resolved  to  try  this  manner 
of  spending  the  evening  are  apt  to  find  their 
company  very  much  in  request.  The  advent 
of  another  year  will  probably  see  a  large  in- 
crease in  the  number  of  excursion  steamers,  and 
during  the  Fair  the  lake  will  doubtless  be 


183 

drawn  upon  to  its  fullest  extent  as  a   source  of 
pleasure  for  the  visiting  throng. 

All    the    foregoing    applies    to     short    trips. 
There  are  steamship  lines  whose  vessels   make 

veryextendediourneys. 

T*  ••/  *i 

It    not    infrequently 

happens    that    visitors 
f  take  advantage  of  the  ex- 


cellent opportunities  afforded  and  make  one  or 
two  voyages  that  they  remember  with  pleasure 
long  after  their  return  to  their  homes  in  the 
country.  The  Graham  &  Morton  Transporta- 
tion Company's  steamers  leave  from  the  dock 
at  the  foot  of  Wabash  avenue  for  St.  Joseph 
and  Benton  harbor  daily,  at  9:30  in  the  morn- 
ing and  1 1  o'clock  at  night,  arriving  at  St.  Jo- 
seph at  1 130  P.  u.  and  3  in  the  morning.  On 


1 84 

Sunday  one  trip  is  made,  leaving  at  10  A.  M. 
and  arriving  at  2  o'clock.  The  fare  for  a  single 
trip  is  $i  but  the  round  trip  can  be  made  for 
that  price  if  the  passengers  return  the  same 
day.  The  fine  side-wheel  steamer  City  of 
Chicago,  one  of  the  handsomest  on  the  lakes, 
is  the  star  of  this  line.  The  Sunday  excursion 
on  this  ship  costs  $1.50.  The  voyage  is  direct- 
ly across  the  lake,  about  40  miles,  and  is  made 
on  schedule  time  in  good  weather;  adverse 
winds  and  waves  are  apt  to  cause  a  little  delay. 
The  Goodrich  line,  however,  is  the  leading 
line  of  lake  steamers  as  well  as  the  oldest. 
The  company's  dock  is  at  the  foot  of  Michigan 
avenue.  The  steamers  ply  between  Chicago 
and  all  ports  on  Lake  Michigan,  such  as  Ra- 
cine, Milwaukee,  Sturgeon  Bay,  Menominee, 
Grand  Haven,  Muskegon,  Green  Bay  and  Man- 
istique.  The  trip  to  Muskegon,  which  takes 
one  night,  is  especially  enjoyable  and  many 
people  indulge  in  it  for  the  purpose  of  seeing 
the  greatest  lumber  town  in  the  world,  which 
distinction  Muskegon  enjoys;  the  night  trip  to 
Milwaukee  is  also  a  favorite,  especially  in  hot 
weather.  Milwaukee,  as  is  ever  known,  is  a 
sort  of  Gretna  Green  for  youthful  and  impression- 
able Chicago  couples,  who  are  in  the  habit  of 
eloping  to  that  happy  haven,  getting  safe- 
ly married  and  then  returning  on  the  next  boat 


i85 

to  seek  the  parental  forgiveness  which  is  almost 
invariably  bestowed  if  they  wait  long  enough. 
The  Saturday  night  boat  rarely  starts  in  the 
summer  months  without  at  least  one  such  elop- 
ing couple  on  board. 

Some  of  the  Goodrich  line  vessels  will  bear 
comparison  with  the  finest  ocean  steamers. 
The  dimensions  of  the  Virginia,  for  instance, 
are  as  follows:  278  feet  over  all,  260  feet  keel, 
38  feet  beam  and  25  feet  deep.  The  hull  is  di- 
vided into  six  water-tight  compartments,  so 
constructed  that  if  the  vessel  were  cut  squarely  in 
two  halves  it  would  float.  The  interior  decora- 
tions and  equipments  are  of  the  most  magni- 
ficent description.  No  one  should  fail  to  at 
least  inspect  this,  by  all  odds  the  finest  vessel 
that  floats  the  lakes.  Other  fine  vessels  of  this 
line  are  the  Indiana,  City  of  Racine  and 
Menominee. 

The  steamers  of  the  Lake  Michigan  &  Lake 
Superior  Transportation  Company,  which  are  all 
elegantly  appointed;  carry  passengers  between 
Chicago  and  Duluth,  at  the  head  of  Lake  Sup- 
erior. These  staunch  steamers  leave  Chicago 
Wednesday  and  Saturday  evenings,  leaving 
the  dock  at  Rush  street  bridge  at  8 130,  and  call  at 
Mackinac,  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  Marquette,  and  all 
Lake  Superior  ports.  The  passenger  traffic  on 
this  line  during  the  summer  is  enormous  and  in- 


1 86 

creases  constantly  with  the  fame  of  the  north- 
ern summer  resorts,  which  are  yearly  growing 
more  popular. 

The  pleasure-seeker  is  hardly  likely  to  be 
interested  in  the  commercial  side  of  the  Chi- 
cago lake  marine.  The  story  of  its  magnitude, 
however,  may  be  told  in  one  brief  paragraph: 

The  daily  arrivals  and  clearances  at  Chicago 
exceed  those  of  New  York  by  fifty  per  cent,  being 
nearly  as  numerous  as  those  of  Baltimore,  Bos- 
ton and  New  York  combined.  Figures  talk, 
and  these  are  the  figures  that  Chicago  modestly 
presents  to  the  observation  of  the  wondering 
stranger. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


THE  RESTAURANTS  OF  CHICAGO. 

IN  response  to  the 
question,  "Where  shall 
we  eat?  "one  might  say: 
"You  pay  your  money 
and  you  take  your 
choice."  There  are 
more  than  six  hundred 
restaurants  in  Chicago 
and  you  will  admit  that 
the  declaration  is  not 
imperfect.  That  is  to 
say,  there  are  over  six 
hundred  now,  but  at  the  present  ratio  of  increase 
there  will  doubtless  be  a  thousand  or  more 
a  year  hence.  It  eventually  follows  that  these 
restaurants  are  of  all  grades.  There  are  places 
where  you  can  get  a  meal  for  ten  cents;  others 
where  no  single  dish  costs  less  than  50  cents 
to  $1.00.  All  the  leading  hotels — the  Richelieu, 
Auditorium,  Victoria,  Wellington,  and  Palmer, 
as  well  as  the  family  hotels,  like  the  Metropole 
and  Virginia,  have  restaurants  or  cafes  (that  is 
the  fashionable  term)  attached,  where  the  ser- 
vice is  very  elegant  and  the  price  pitched  in  a' 
corresponding  altitude.  Cheap  restaurants  are 


1 88 

to  be  found  in  every  quarter  of  the  city.  There 
is  scarcely  a  block  without  one,  but  the  down- 
town trade  is  monopolized  by  a  few  large  and 
well  established  institutions  that  serve  all  sorts 
of  meals  at  moderate  prices. 

Kinsley's,  No.  105  Adams  street,  is  a  place 
which  caters  to  all  classes.  On  the  ground 
floor  is  a  lunch-room  or  restaurant  in  which  a 
good  meal  may  be  purchased  for  twenty-five  to 
fifty  cents.  On  the  next  story  are  two  fine 
cafes,  one  for  the  exclusive  use  of  gentlemen 
and  the  other  for  ladies,  or  ladies  with  escorts, 
in  which  the  service  and  prices  are  on  the  same 
grade  as  the  hotel  cafes.  Other  floors  are  de- 
voted to  private  dining-rooms  of  all  sizes. 
There  is  also  a  banquet  and  ball-room,  which  is 
at  the  service  of  large  parties. 

Other  large  restaurants,  where  good,  plain 
food  only  is  served  at  moderate  prices,  are 
Thomson's,  143  and  145  Dearborn  street;  Sara- 
toga, 155  and  157  the  same  street;  Central,  on 
Randolph  street  near  State,  and  Tacoma, 
northwest  corner  Madison  and  La  Salle  streets. 
The  oyster  houses  of  Chicago  form  a  special 
feature  in  themselves.  There  are  four  of  this 
class.  The  Boston  Oyster  House,  Clark  and 
Madison  streets;  Chicago  Oyster  House,  Madi- 
son street  between  Clark  and  La  Salle;  the 
Lakeside,  Clark  and  Adams;  Rector's,  Clark 


I8g 

and  Monroe.  Three  of  these  serve  all  kinds  of 
meats  when  desired,  as  well  as  fish  of  every  va- 
riety, but  Rector's  is  an  oyster  house  pure  and 
simple,  where  only  fish  and  game  are  served. 
Rector's  is  a  favorite  resort  after  the  theatre. 
From  eleven  o'clock  to  midnight  it  is  crowded 
with  people  of  all  classes,  with  a  very  strong 
sprinkling  of  the  sporting  and  professional  ele- 
ment. There  are  pretty  actresses  galore,  some 
of  whom  are  attended  by  their  hard-working 
husbands  who  have  places  in  the  same  company 
with  them;  others  by  young  men  of  means  who 
enjoy  the  prestige  of  having  been  acquainted  in 
that  particular  sort  of  social  worldliness.  It  is 
a  gay  scene  in  any  event  and  the  fun  is  o'ften 
kept  up  until  long  after  midnight. 

There  are  at  least  three  places  that  make  a 
specialty  of  catering  to  patrons  who  desire  the 
seclusion  of  private  dining-rooms.  These  are 
Lassagne's,  on  South  Clark  street,  opposite  the 
court  house;  Weber's,  and  the  Vendome,  State 
street,  between  Madison  and  Monroe.  Lassa- 
gne's, as  the  name  would  indicate,  is  kept  by  a 
Frenchman  and  the  cooking  and  service  are  es- 
sentially French.  The  service  at  Weber's 
and  the  Vendome  is  similar  in  almost  every  res- 
pect. The  prices  charged  at  these  places  are 
not  at  all  exorbant,  and  a  private  dining-room 
is  always  in  great  demand  with  affectionate 


190 

couples  who  desire  a  tempting  tete-a-tete  meal 
that  would  not  be  nearly  so  enjoyable  if  it  lacked 
the  charm  of  privacy  and  the  opportunities  for 
the  display  of  sentiment  which  such  privacy 
permits.  These  dining-rooms  are  small  apart- 
ments, neatly  partitioned  off  and  graded  in 
sizes  to  suit  parties  of  from  two  to  twenty. 
That  these  are  liberally  patronized  may  be  in- 
ferred from  the  merry  bursts  of  laughter  that 
are  occasionally  heard  pealing  through  the  car- 
peted  halls  as  the  busy  waiters  go  scurrying 
to  and  fro  with  their  piles  of  well  filled  dishes. 
It  has  been  said  that  it  is  from  the  sale  of  wines 
that  the  proprietors  are  enabled  to  maintain 
these*  private-dining-rooms,  consequently  it  is 
the  proper  caper  to  wash  down  the  very  reason- 
ably priced  dinner  with  a  bottle  or  so  of  one's 
favorite  style  of  grape  juice  if  the  person  can 
afford  it,  and  if  you  can't,  why,  you  have  no  busi- 
ness there. 

The  table  d'  hote  has  become  quite  an  insti- 
tution in  Chicago  within  the  past  two  or  three 
years.  It  is  presumed  that  every  reader  of  this 
book  knows  what  the  term  signifies,  but  it  will 
do  no  harm  to  explain  it.  The  term  is  a  French 
one,  signifying  "  the  hotel  table."  The  table  d1 
hote,  then,  is  a  course  dinner,  given  at  a  fixed 
price,  upon  payment  of  which  the  patron  is  en- 
titled, if  he  wishes  for  it,  to  a  taste  of  every 


191 


dish  mentioned  on  the  printed  bill  of  fare.  To 
so  grade  the  courses  of  a  big  dinner  as  to  pam- 
per the  appetite  and  leave,  with  the  con- 
sumption of  each  course,  a  desire  for  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  next,  is  a  splendid  art,  second 
to  none  in  the  opinion  of  some  people,  and  at 
least  one  table  d'  hote  in  Chicago  comes  very 
close  to  perfection.  This  is  the  table  d9  hote 
inaugurated  by  Mr.  Leland  and  since  main- 
tained by  the  purchasers  of  the  hotel  of  that 

name.  The  price  of 
this  dinner  is  $1.00,  and 
in  addition  to  the 
twelve  courses  of  eat- 
1  ables  each  person  is 


entitled  to  a  bottle  of  excellent  red  or  white  wine. 
An  orchestra  stationed  somewhere  discourses 
sweet  music  during  the  meal,  which  is  served 
from  5:30  to  8:00  P.  M.  A  very  similar  table  d' 


192 

kote,  but  without  wine,  is  served  at   the  Palmer 
House  at  the  same  price.      A   most  excellent 
dinner  may  be  had  at  a  little  French  restaurant 
on  Monroe  street,  one  door  west  of  the  Colum 
bia  theatre,  for  seventy-five  cents. 

In  one  respect  the  table  d1  hole  is  a  most  ex- 
cellent arrangement.  Considering  the  lavish  - 
ness  of  the  spread  a  dollar  is  a  very  reasonable 
price;  the  same  dinner  could  not  be  purchased 
in  a  first-class  restaurant  a  la  carte  for  less  than 
five  or  six  dollars,  if  not  more.  If  a  party  of 
four  or  six  people  want  to  enjoy  a  jolly  dinner 
at  a  reasonable  price,  amid  pleasant  surround- ' 
ings,  they  should  patronize  the  table  d'  hote, 
always  supposing  they  have  plenty  of  time. 
The  dinner  takes  an  hour  to  serve  comfortably. 
Those  who  are  rushed  for  time  should  go  else- 
where. 

A  chapter  on  restaurants  would  be  incom- 
plete without  a  reference  to  the  innumerable 
boarding-houses  of  Chicago.  For  a  person  who 
contemplates  a  more  or  less  extended  stay  a 
boarding-house  is  perhaps  the  best  place  to  go. 
It  is  certainly  much  more  economical  than  liv- 
ing at  a  first-class  hotel.  Excellent  accommo- 
dations in  boarding-houses  in  the  best  parts  of 
the  residence  districts  may  be  secured  at  rates 
varying  from  $4  to  $  i o  per  week,  room  and  board. 
No  need  to  describe  the  location  of  boarding- 


193 

houses.  A  glance  at  the  advertising  columns 
of  the  daily  newspapers  will  show  you  a  quick 
route  to  hundreds  of  such.  If  it  is  not  desired 
to  go  to  the  trouble  of  selecting  ar  boading 
place  for  yourself  call  at  any  of  the  many  agen- 
cies— all  of  which  print  cards  in  the  "Board 
Wanted"  columns  of  the  Sunday  papers — and 
tell  the  people  there  exactly  what  you  want. 
In  nine  cases  out  of  ten  they  will  send  you  to  a 
place  which  will  be  found  suitable.  There  is  no 
charge  for  this  service.  The  usual  way  is  to 
charge  the  applicant  a  dollar,  which  sum  is  de- 
ducted from  the  bill  at  the  establishment  he 
may  select  from  the  list  furnished  by  the  agency. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 


V 


THE  HAYMARKET  MONUMENT. 

THE  statue  which 
stands  in  the  Hay- 
market,  the  broad 
square  on  Randolph 
Street  extending  from 
Desplaines  to  Hal- 
sted,  commemorates 
an  event  only  sec- 
ond in  importance  in 
Chicago's  history  to 
the  great  fire  of  1871. 
It  stands  as  a  mark  of 
that  awful  night,  May 
4,  1886,  when  the 

mouthings  of  the  anarchists  culminated  in  the 
hurling  of  a  bomb — the  only  bomb  ever  thrown 
in  America — into  a  squad  of  police,  of  whom  seven 
were  killed  and  sixty-six  laid  low  with  awful 
wounds. 

While  looking  at  this  monument,  the  figure  of  a 
policeman  in  heroic  size,  the  visitor  may  if  he 
chooses,  try  to  imagine  that  scene,  when  Des- 
plaines Street  bore  the  appearance  of  a  battlefield, 
and  the  station  house  near  by,  whither  the  dead  and 


wounded  were  carried,  that  of  a  hospital.  Think 
over  it  all,  as  you  gaze  at  the  monument,  and  try 
to  realize  the  importance  of  the  bloody  epoch 
which  it  typifies. 

May  day  of  that  year  had  been  fixed  upon  as  the 
proper  time  to  inaugurate  the  eight  hour  move- 
ment. Prior  to  that  date  the  anarchists  had 
become  thoroughly  organized.  They  held  meet- 
ings every  Sunday  afternoon  on  the  Lake  Front, 
when  their  leaders  made  fiery  speeches,  advocat- 
ing the  murder  of  capitalists  and  the  destruction  of 
property.  On  the  first  of  May,  strike  after  strike 
occurred  in  quick  succession.  Within  two  days 
there  were  thousands  of  unemployed  workmen  in 
the  streets;  the  anarchist  leaders  did  all  they  could 
to  foster  a  spirit  of  mischief  and  incite  the  strikers 
to  deeds  of  violence.  The  Haymarket  riot  itself 
originated  in  the  great  strike  at  the  McCormick 
Reaper  works,  which  transpired  February  11,  the 
strikers'  places  being  filled  by  non-union  men.  Po- 
lice were  put  on  guard  at  the  works,  and  such 
anarchist  leaders  as  August  Spies,  Albert  Parsons, 
Henry  Ficlden,  and  Michael  Schwab  improved  the 
opportunity  to  further  excite  disturbance  and  dis- 
order and  to  increase  the  hatred  of  the  mob  for 
the  police.  On  the  evening  of  April  28,  1885,  the 
new  Board  of  Trade  building  was  opened  and  a 
swarm  of  anarchists,  both  men  and  women,  marched 
to  the  building,  waving  red  flags  and  breathing 


196 

death  and  destruction  to  the  "aristocrats,"  as  they 
called  them.  It  was  a  strange  scene.  Inside  the 
glittering  building  there  were  fair  women,  in  daz- 
zling toilets  and  decked  with  gems,  who  shuddered 
as  they  gazed  through  the  windows  at  the  menac- 
ing populace  without — the  same  class  of  mis- 
guided beings  who  turned  Paris  into  a  Hell  during 
the  revolution.  The  police  drove  the  mob  away. 
The  raving  hordes  dispersed,  uttering  curses  and 
threats  as  they  went.  This  incident  is  related 
merely  to  show  the  spirit  which  prevailed  among 
the  anarchists  prior  to  the  deadly  deed  of  the  follow- 
ing year. 

It  was  Monday,  May  3,  when  the  riot  at  Mc- 
Cormick's  occurred.  As  the  workmen  left  the 
building  they  were  attacked  by  a  great  army  of  men 
and  women.  The  police  were  called  and  a  battle,  or 
rather  a  series  of  battles,  resulted,  in  which  knives, 
sticks,  stones  and  pistols  were  used.  The  police 
were  fired  upon  repeatedly  by  the  mob  and 
promptly  returned  the  fusillade.  In  all,  six  rioters 
were  killed  or  injured,  and  several  police  officers 
were  wounded.  One  officer  narrowly  escaped 
being  lynched,  and  succeeded  in  breaking  away 
from  his  captors  as  they  were  about  to  string  him 
up  to  a  lamp -post,  to  which  a  rope  had  already 
been  attached.  Immediately  after  this  bloody 
affair  the  famous  "Revenge"  circular  was  distrib- 
uted— an  incendiary  document  written  by  August 


197 

Spies,  and  supposed  to  have  been  the  principal 
cause  of  the  bomb-throwing.  As  a  historical  doc- 
ument it  is  worth  quoting : 

"Revenge!  Workingmen,  to  arms!  Your  masters  sent  out 
their  bloodhounds,  the  police.  They  killed  six  of  your  brothers  at 
McCormick's  this  afternoon;  they  killed  the  poor  wretches  because 
they  had  the  courage  to  disobey  the  supreme  will  of  your  bosses;  they 
killed  them  because  they  dared  to  ask  for  the  shortening  of  the  hours 
of  toil;  they  killed  them  to  ehow  you,  free  American  citizens,  that 
you  must  be  satisfied  and  contented  with  whatever  your  bosses  con- 
descend to  allow  you  or  you  will  get  killed.  You  have  for  years 
suffered  unmeasurable  iniquities;  you  have  worked  yourselves  to  death; 
you  have  endured  the  pangs  of  want  and  hunger;  your  children  have 
been  sacrificed  to  the  factory  lords — in  short,  you  have  been  miser- 
able and  obedient  slaves  all  these  years.  Why  ?  To  satisfy  the  in- 
satiable greed,  to  fill  the  coffers  of  your  lazy,  theiving  masters. 
When  you  ask  them  now  to  lessen  the  burden  they  send  their  blood- 
hounds out  to  shoot  you — kill  you.  If  you  are  men,  if  you  are  the 
sons  of  your  grandsires,  who  have  shed  their  blood  to  free  you,  then 
you  will  rise  in  your  might,  Herculean,  and  destroy  the  hideous  mon- 
ster that  seeks  to  destroy  you  !  To  arms  !  We  call  you  to  arms  ! 

YOUR  BROTHERS." 

Events  followed  fast  upon  the  issue  of  this 
circular.  A  number  of  minor  conflicts  occurred, 
and  then  the  Arbeiter  Zeitimg,  of  which  Spies  was 
editor,  called  the  Haymarket  meeting  in  the  follow- 
ing notice : 

"ATTENTION,  WORKINGMEN!  Great  mass  meeting  to- 
night, at  7:30  o'clock,  at  the  Haymarket,  Randolph  street,  between 
Desplaines  and  Halsted.  Good  speakers  will  be  present  to  denounce 
the  latest  atrocious  acts  of  the  police — the  shooting  of  your  fellow 
workmen  yesterday  afternoon. 

THB  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE." 


198 


The  hour  came.  The  Hay- 
market  Square  and  Des- 
plaines  Street  were  crowded. 
From  the  top  of  a  wagon, 
Parsons,  Schwab  and  Spies 
made  inflammatory 
speeches.  Fielden  was 
in  the  midst  of  his,  when 
a  platoon  of  police,  over 
a  hundred  in  num- 
ber appeared, 
headed  by  Captain 
Ward  and  Inspec- 
torBonfield.  Ward 
commanded  the 
people  to  disperse,  and  at  that  instant  the  bomb 
was  thrown.  It  sputtered  through  the  air  like  a 
comet  and  fell  with  an  awful  roar  in  the  ranks  of 
the  police,  exploding  with  deadly  effect.  Without 
wavering  an  instant,  the  surviving  officers  poured 
a  volley  of  pistol  shots  into  the  mob.  For  several 
minutes  the  battle  raged.  When  it  was  over  the 
ground  was  littered  with  the  dead  and  dying. 
The  wounded  were  taken  to  the  Desplaines  Street 
station. 

The  ringleaders  were  arrested  the  following  day. 
Schnaubelt,  the  man  who  threw  the  bomb  was  ar- 
rested but  released  by  some  mistake  and  disap- 


199 

peared  as  completely  as  if  the  earth  had  swallowed 
him. 

Spies,  Engel,  Parson,  Fielden,  Fischer,  Schwab, 
Lingg  and  Neebe  were  tried  for  conspiracy  to 
murder.  The  trial  was  the  most  sensational  in 
Chicago's  history,  and  lasted  thirty-six  days. 
Neebe  was  sent  to  the  penitentiary;  all  the  others 
were  sentenced  to  death.  All  the  men  made  long 
speeches  in  court,  protesting  against  the  sentence, 
but  its  justice  was  affirmed  by  the  Supreme  Courts 
of  Illinois  and  of  the  United  States.  The  execu- 
tion was  fixed  for  November  11,  1887.  A  peti- 
tion asking  for  clemency  was  sent  to  Richard  J. 
Oglesby,  then  Governor  of  the  State.  The  sen- 
tences of  Fielden  and  Schwab  were  commuted  to 
life-imprisonment.  The  day  before  that  set  for  the 
execution,  Lingg,  who  was  the  most  ferocious  an- 
archist of  all,  committed  suicide  in  a  horrible  man- 
ner. He  placed  a  fulminating  cartridge  in  his 
mouth,  cigar-fashion,  lighted  the  fuse  and  calmly 
waited  until  the  thing  exploded  and  blew  off  his 
head.  The  four  others,  Spies,  Parson,  Engel  and 
Fischer,  was  executed  a  few  minutes  before  noon 
the  following  day. 

The  writer  of  these  lines  saw  these  men  die, 
being  seated  just  below  the  scaffold,  with  a  complete 
view  of  the  proceeding.  The  assertion  may  be 
ventured,  that  every  witness  of  that  awful  event 
was  impressed  by  the  bravery  with  which  the 


200 


doomed  four  met  their  fate.  They  had  lived  mis- 
guided lives  and  died  ignominious  deaths,  but  there 
was  not  a  coward  among  them.  When  they  per- 
ished the  anarchists  of  Chicago  ceased  to  exist  as 
a  political  power.  Their  party,  which  suffered  a 
staggering  blow  by  reason  of  the  event  of  the 
preceding  year,  was  obliterated,  effaced  by  the 
tragedy  on  the  scaffold  which  vindicated  the  right- 
eous power  of  law  and  order.  The  anarchists  of 
Europe  no  longer  look  to  this  country  as  a  pleas- 
ant or  profitable  ground  for  the  dissemination  of 
their  doctrines. 

When  you  gaze  upon  the  Haymarket  monu- 
ment you  may  ponder  on  these  things.  That  simple 
figure  typifies  the  rise  and  fall  of  anarchism  in 
Chicago — one  of  the  most  thrilling  periods  in  ail 
its  history. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 


CHEYENNE. 

THIS  is  an  excellent 
neighborhood  to  let  alone, 
however  curious  you  may  be. 
The  small  section  of  city  to 
which  the  nickname  of 
"Cheyenne"  has  been  given 
comprises  the  district  bounded 
by  Harrison  Street  on  the 
north,  Twelfth  Street  on  the 
south,  Dearborn  Street  on  the 
east  and  Fifth  Avenue  on  the 
west.  In  this  district  reside 
more  dangerous  characters 
than  there  are  in  any  other  portion  of  the  city.  It 
might  almost  be  called  a  negro  colony,  so  many 
colored  people  reside  in  it;  but  there  are  also  large 
numbers  of  foreigners — the  scum  of  the  large 
cities  of  Europe — who  are  fruit -peddlers  and  or- 
gan-grinders by  day  and  by  night — heaven  only 
knows  what!  They  herd  together  like  animals, 
twenty  families  sometimes  finding  lodging  in  one 
tenement.  It  is  a  historical  fact  that  the  police  once 
literally  "  cleaned  out"  a  house  in  which  sixty-one 
Italians  were  living.  The  sixty-one  comprised 


2O2 


several  families,  as  many  as  a  score  of  persons 
sleeping-  in  one  room. 

So  desperate  are  many  of  "  Cheyenne's  "  known 
characters  that  no  policeman  who  patrols  a  beat  in 
that  locality  is  permitted  to  do  so  alone.  The  of- 
ficers move  about  in  squads,  armed  to  the  teeth, 
for  they  never  know  when  a  gang  of  habitual 
criminals,  out  on  a  drunken  frolic,  may  not  swoop 
down  upon  them  and  evidence  their  traditional 
hatred  for  law  and  order  by  inaugurating  an  at- 
tack upon  the  officers  with  clubs,  pistols  and 
knives.  When  an  arrest  is  contemplated  in 
"  Cheyenne,"  a  dozen  armed  officers  go  to  the  objec- 
tive point  in  a  patrol-wagon,  prepared  for  any  sort 
of  an  encounter ;  for  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  every 
prominent  Cheyenneite  has  an  army  of  followers 
who  regard  it  as  a  point  of  honor  to  resist  his  ar- 
rest as  bitterly  as  possible.  The  degree  of  im- 
portance enjoyed  by  the  gentleman  whose  arrest 
is  contemplated  serves  as  a  guide  to  the  police  au- 
thorities ;  if  he  is  in  any  sense  a  leader,  twenty  stal- 
wart men  are  none  too  few  to  be  entrusted  with 
the  mission. 

It  is  with  no  idea  of  speaking  disparagingly  of 
the  fair  sex  that  one  remarks  on  the  presence  in 
"Cheyenne"  of  several  dusky  female  characters 
of  whom  the  police  have  a  wholesome  dread.  Most 
officers  would  rather  engage  in  a  grapple  with 
half  a  dozen  male  desperados  than  with  one  of 


203 

those  formidable  negresses.     They  are  Amazonian 
in  physique  and  being  thoroughly  abandoned,  are 


ready  for  any  hideous  devilment  which  may  01 
may  not  turn  up.  "Big  Mag,"  the  wickedest 
and  most  notorious  character  in  Cheyenne  was  re- 
cently sentenced  to  five  years  at  Joliet,  and  will 
therefore  be  safely  caged  during  the  Fair.  She 
has  raised  riots  without  number  in  "Cheyenne"  in 
her  time.  She  is  nearly  six  feet  in  height,  as 
straight  as  an  arrow  and  of  such  marvelous 

o 

strength  that  no  officer  on  the  force  would  under- 
take to  arrest  her  single-handed.  She  had  a  record 


2O4 

with  the  pistol,  too,  and  there  was  easier  breathing 
at  the  Harrison  Street  Station  when  she  went 
"over  the  road"  for  a  comfortable  five  years. 

As  a.  general  thing,  there  is  not  much  noise  or 
tumult  in  "Cheyenne"  after  nightfall.  But  its 
very  quietude  is  its  most  deceptive  feature.  Woe 
to  the  guileless  countryman  who,  having  been  cel- 
ebrating his  visit  to  the  city  not  wis'ely  but  too 
well,  ignorantly  strolls  into  the  dangerous  canton. 
There  are  dark  forms  lurking  in  the  alley- ways 
and  doors,  eager  for  prey.  They  carry  razors  as 
well  as  pistols,  and  will  stop  at  nothing1  when 
booty  looms  in  sight.  But  there  are  other  times, 
generally  on  holidays  when  some  electrical  spark 
touches  "  Cheyenne,"  and  then  the  whole  settle- 
ment goes,  as  it  were,  on  a  roaring  tear.  At  such 
times  the  police  are  kept  busy.  There  was  one 
occasion — 'twas  last  Thanksgiving  Day,  if  one  re- 
members aright,  when  the  inhabitants  of  "Chey- 
enne," male  and  female,  turned  out  for  a  series  of 
athletic  contests.  The  open  streets  served  as  a 
race-course,  and  the  dusky  Amazons  were  the 
candidates  for  honors ;  the  men  preferring  to  stand 
and  lay  wagers  on  their  prowess.  A  herculean 
negro  lined  the  "mares  "  up  for  the  start  and  sent 
them  away  to  the  crack  of  a  pistol — no  matter 
where  the  bullets  went ;  such  trifles  are  not  con- 
sidereti  in  "Cheyenne," — the  Amazons  picking  up 
their  skirts  and  tearing  down  the  "track"  to  the 


205 

cheers  of  their  applauding  friends  who  lined  the 
sidewalks.  Between  races  the  saloons  were  pat- 
ronized and  the  termination  of  the  sport  may  be 
imagined.  So  long  as  the  Cheyenneites  confined 
themselves  to  mere  racing,  the  police  did  not  inter- 
fere, but  when  the  bad  whisky  got  in  its  work  to 
such  an  extent  that  fights  occurred  at  the  conclu- 
sion of  every  race,  an  army  of  blue-coats  swooped 
down  and  made  wholesale  arrests.  The  scene 
which  followed  will  never  be  forgotten.  It  is  a 
wonder  that  any  policeman  who  figured  in  the  raid 
escaped  alive.  The  mob  of  desperate  blacks 
surged  round  the  officers  trying  to  rescue  the 
prisoners  who  had  been  gathered  in  at  the  first 
rush.  Pistols  were  drawn  and  many  shots  fired. 
Nobody  was  killed,  but  many  heads  were  cracked. 
The  affair  is  talked  of  to  this  day  in  Cheyenne  and 
no  police  officer  who  figured  in  it  has  any  desire 
for  a  repetition  of  the  experience. 

It  is  just  as  well  perhaps  that  so  much  of  the 
dangerous  element  of  the  city  should  be  grouped 
or  colonized  in  this  one  spot;  as  the  authorities 
know  exactly  where  to  look  for  it  and  can  al- 
ways be  prepared  to  check  any  lawless  demon- 
stration that  may  emanate  from  it.  If  this  locality 
is  visited  at  all,  it  should  be  in  broad  daylight  and 
in  good  company.  "Cheyenne"  might  fitly  be 
termed  the  Whitechapel  of  Chicago. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


CANDIES    AND    FLOWERS. 

C  O  M  M  U  N  I  T  Y'S 

prosperity  is  always 
to  be  gauged  by  the 
amount  of  money  it 
is  able  to  spend  on 
luxuries.  And  if 
candies  and  flowers 
are  to  be  classed  as 
luxuries  Chicago 
must  be  very  pros- 
perous indeed,  for 
the  city  supports  a 
large  number  o  f 

large  stores  that  are  devoted  to  the  sale  of  one 
or  both  of  these  articles. 

A  high-class  florist  in  these  days  simply  coins 
money.  He  ought  to  do  so,  with  Jacqueminot 
and  La  France  roses  often  at  $12  a  dozen. 
There  are  several  Chicago  florists  who  are  in  a 
fair  way  to  become  millionaires.  The  immedi- 
ate profits  of  the  candy  business  are  not  quite 
so  large,  perhaps,  but  there  is  less  risk.  Roses 
fade  in  a  day,  and  if  they  are  not  bought  are  a 
dead  loss.  The  sweet  stuff  on  which  the  young 


207 

ladies  of  the  period  dote   lasts  a  little  longer  and 

is  disposed  of  more  readily.     Perhaps  the  best 

customer     of    the    florist    and  the  candy  man 

alike    is  the    susceptible  youth   who  wishes  to 

make  the  fair  object  of  his  adoration  think  her 

best  of  him,  and  for  that  reason  bestows  gifts  of 

flowers  and  candy  upon  her  as  long  as  he  seems 

to  entertain    the  ghost  of  a  chance  of  getting 

any  sort  of   return    for  his  money.     It  is    the 

proper  caper,  if    you  are  an   engaged  man,  to 

send  your  fiancee  flowers  and  candy  every  day. 

This  is  where  the  profits  of  the  purveyor  of  these 

luxuries  come    in,   for,  when    a    marriageable 

young  man  gets  what  is  known  as  "the  mitten,'' 

it  stands  to  reason  that  he  is  very  soon  going  to 

find  somebody  else  upon  whom  to  lavish  the 

same  gifts    so    fruitlessly    bestowed  upon  the 

cruel  one.     Of  course  when    he  actually    does 

marry,  the  florists  and  candy   men  may  mark 

him  off  their  books,  for  who  is  so  foolish  as  to 

suppose  a  man  is  going  to  buy  flowers  and  candy 

for  his   own  wife?     But,  while  the  flower  and 

candy  men  are  apt  to  deplore   marriage  on  this 

account,  they  find  comfort  in  knowing  that  for 

every  marriage  that  is  taking  place   there  are 

twenty  young  men  arriving  at  a  marriageable 

age  and  thereby  taking  the  place  of  the  rescued 

victim. 

To  rrfention  all  the  florists  of  Chicago  would 


208 

take  up  too  much  space.  There  are  over  two  hun- 
dred of  them.  It  is  the  fashionable  thing  now- 
adays to  join  the  two  businesses,  having 
flowers  for  sale  on  one  side  of  the  shop  and 
candy  on  the  other.  This  is  the  case  with  the 
Spencer  store  in]the  new  Masonic  Temple  build- 
ing, on  State  street,  at  the  corner  of  Randolph. 
The  windows  of  this  store  are  adorned  with  rare 
palms  and  other  handsome  plants  that  prepare 
one  for  the  beauties  to  be  found  within.  It  is  a 
splendid  stand  for  a  store  of  this  character  and 
commands  a  large  patronage.  An  establish- 
ment of  a  very  similar  character,  and  quite  as 
imposing,  is  the  s^tore  of  P.  J.  Houswirth  (suc- 
cessor to  Charles  Reissig),  in  the  Auditorium 
building.  It  is  a  convenient  place  to  rush  into 
during  an  operatic  performance  in  the  Audi- 
torium and  purchase  a  $1000  bouquet  to  fling  to 
a  favorite  singer.  Perhaps  the  best-known 
florist  in  Chicago  is  Michael  H.  Gallagher, whose, 
store  is  located  in  the  Palmer  house  block,  163 
Wabash,  and  whose  greenhouses  are  at  5649 
Washington  avenue.  Mr  Gallagher's  trade 
is  very  large.  "The  superb  floral  decorations 
were  by  Gallagher,"  is  a  familiar  phrase  in  the 
newspaper  reports  of  weddings,  receptions  and 
kindred  gala  events.  Mr.  Gallagher  is  said  to 
have  made  a  large  fortune  at  the  business. 
Among  the  other  prominent  down-towh  florists 
may  be  mentioned  the  following: 


200 

Joseph  Craig,  84  State  street;  Charles  Fisk, 
149  State;  Joseph  Curran,  242  Wabash  avenue; 
Walter  Krintberg,  231  Wabash  avenue;  J.  C. 
Vaughan,  88  State  street  (with  a  branch  at  148 
West  Washington). 

Coming  to  the  consideration  of  candy,  con- 
fectionery, and  fine  fruits,  the  name  of  Charles 
Gunther  first  challenges  attention.  The  Gun- 
ther  store,  212  State  street,'  is  without  doubt 
one  of  the  sights  of  the  city,  containing,  as  it 
does,  in  addition  to  the  regular  stock-in-trade, 
the  Gunther  museum,  which  the  proprietor  has 
spent  the  best  years  of  his  life  in  collecting. 
The  museum  embraces  curios  of  all  sorts  and 
some  of  them  are  of  great  value.  The  entire  col- 
lection is  worth  a  fabulous  amount  and  there 
is  a  well-defined  impression  abroad  that  the 
owner  intends  to  give  it  to  the  city  some  day. 

The  furnishings  of  the  Gunther  store  are 
magnificent.  Tall  mirrors  reflect  the  custom- 
er's shape  at  every  step.  The  rear  part  of  two 
floors  is  dotted  with  tables,  at  which  iced  drinks, 
ice  cream,  and  light  luncheons  are  served. 
Whether  with  a  view  of  purchase  or  not,  the 
store  will  well  repay  a  visit.  Gunther's  candy 
is  advertised  the  country  over,  and  the  concern 
enjoys  an  enormous  out-of-town  trade. 

The  new  Berry  candy  store,  at  the  north-east 
corner  of  State  and  Adams  streets,  challenges 


210 

Gunther's  for  brilliancy.  The  walls  and  ceilings 
are  lined  throughout  with  mirrors,  set  at  all 
angles,  and  the  effect  at  night  when  all  the 
electric  lamps  are  in  full  blaze  is  one  of 
dazzling  brillancy.  The  usual  soda  water 
fountain  and  ice  cream  branch  is  also  to  be 
found  here.  The  store  is  the  head-quarters  of 
John  Berry,  the  proprietor,  who,  however,  has 
branches  at  155  East  Madison,  and  167,  241, 
581  West  Madison  streets.  The  factory  is  on 
Washington  boulevard,  corner  of  Sangamon 
screet. 

Huyler's,  161  State  street,  is  a  branch  of  the 
famous  New  York  house  of  that  name  and  en- 
joys a  large  patronage.  It  is  a  favorite  resort  for 
ladies  who,  tired  out  with  shopping  journeys, 
stand  in  need  of  a  little  refreshment.  Plow's,  in 
the  new  McVicker's  theatre  building,  is  another 
popular  store.  On  matinee  days  especially  it 
is  crowded  with  purchasers.  Boles  &  Kehoe, 
in  Central  Music  Hall,  claim  that  their  candy  is 
equal  to  the  best,  and  to  judge  by  the  size  of 
their  trade  the  claim  is  well  founded.  The 
Kranz  store,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street, 
is  particularly  gorgeous  in  its  furnishings,  and 
its  refreshment  tables,  as  well  as  its  counters, 
are  always  crowded. 

There  are  many  others  that    might    be    men- 


211 


tioned.  The  candy  purveyors  of  Chicago  num- 
ber over  a  thousand,  and  no  one  who  is  in  need 
of  a  package  of  the  toothsome  stuff  need  go 
away  disappointed. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

SUMMER    NIGHT  CONCERTS. 

USIC  hath  charms  to  soothe  the 
savage  breast,"  said  Shakespeare, 
and  whether  it  does  so  or  not  it 
soothes  the  ruffled  feelings  of 
the  thousands  who  attend  the 
summer  night  concerts  at  the 
new  First  regiment  armory  on 
Michigan  avenue  near  Sixteenth  street.  For 
the  last  ten  years  the  summer  night  concerts  in 
this  city  have  been  given  under  the  direction 
of  Theodore  Thomas  in  the  old  exposition 
building,  but  with  the  demolition  of  that  time- 
honored  structure  Thomas  has  retired  from  the 
summer  musical  arena,  leaving  his  baton  to  be 
wielded  by  Max  Bendix,  who  for  several  sea- 
sons played  the  first  violin  in  the  Thomas  or- 
chestra. The  great  exposition  building,  dirty 
and  weather-beaten  as  it  was,  had  charms  for 
the  thousands  who  congregated  there.  It  is 
true  that  the  occasional  weird  and  unearthly 
shriek  of  a  locomotive  on  the  Lake  Front  in- 
terfered sadly  with  the  witching  harmonies  of 
Schumann  or  Gounod  and  even  drowned,  at 
times,  the  ponderous  volume  of  Wagnerian  out- 


213 

bursts.  But  it  was  delightfully  cool  and  re- 
freshing to  sit  among  the  potted  shrubs  with 
which  the  great  hall  was  dotted  and  drink  in  the 
seductive  strains  simultaneously  with  one's 
Seipp  or  Bass  and  watch  the  never-ceasing  pro- 
cession of  comely  youths  and  airily  clad  maidens 
who  passed  to  and  fro. 

The  atmosphere  surrounding  the  armory 
concerts  this  year  is  perhaps  rather  less  demo- 
cratic than  that  of  the  vanished  exposition 
building,  but  the  general  effect  is  the  same. 
The  massiveness  of  the  structure  as  viewed 
without  hightens  the  pleasant  impression  re- 
ceived on  stepping  within.  The  polished  floor  is 
covered  for  the  most  part  with  long  rows  of 
neat  chairs,  but  at  each  side  of  the  big  hall  is  a 
row  of  boxed  fir-trees  behind  which  are  scattered 
the  miniature  tables  at  which  light  refresh- 
ments are  served.  Overhead  are  flags  and 
bunting,  while  light  is  supplied  by  rows  of  big 
electric  lamps  depending  from  slender  wires. 
Placed  in  niches  at  intervals  along  the  walls  are 
electric  fans,  the  incessant  whirling  of  which 
supplies  a  pleasant  draught,  almost  a  breeze,  is 
fact,  in  the  sultriest  of  weather. 

As  the  hour  arrives  for  the  commencement  of 
the  concert  the  hall  fills  up.  The  stream  of 
amusement-seekers  contains  all  qualities  of  peo- 
ple, from  the  society  belles  of  the  adjacent  ave- 


2I4 

nues  and  their  escorts  to  the  musically-inclined 
shop-girl  from  the  West  side,  and  the  plump 
capitalist  to  the  thrifty  book-keeper  or  ribbon 
salesman.  Music  is  the  ostensible  attraction 
for  all,  but  it  is  quite  as  much  to  chat  with  their 
friends  in  quiet  nooks  and  to  see  what  the  other 
girls  are  wearing  that  the  prettily  attired  belles 
have  made  their  appearance.  And  some  of  the 
costumes  are  veritable  dreams.  The  warmth 
of  the  summer  season  affords  every  opportun- 
ity for  the  display  of  fetching  feminine  apparel, 
and  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  never  arrayed 
like  some  of  the  dames  who  patronize  the  sum- 
mer night  concerts. 

The  music  itself  is  of  the  very  best  quality. 
Certain  nights  are  devoted  to  certain  musici 
There  are  two  "request"  nights,  when  the  pro- 
grams are  made  up  from  the  numbers  patrons 
have  asked  Director  Bendix  to  play.  There  are 
"popular"  nights,  when  the  classical  idea  is 
pushed  into  the  background  for  the  nonce  and 
the  simplest  of  compositions,  the  comprehen- 
sion of  which  does  not  involve  the  knitting  of 
one's  brows  and  the  tearing  out  of  one's  hair  by 
the  roots,  played.  There  are  two  "ball-room" 
nights,  when  the  best  style  of  dance  music  is 
played.  Thus  all  tastes  are  catered  to  and 
all  desires  satisfied.  He  who  hankers  for  class- 
ical music  may  attend  on  such  nights  as  classical 


2I5 

music  is  given  and  stay  away  on  others.  Others 
may  consult  their  tastes  in  the  same  way. 

The  general  idea,  that  of  supplying  two  hours 
of  light  entertainment  each  night  through  the 
hot  weather  season,  is  a  most  excellent  one. 
The  delicious  strains  discoursed  by  the  fifty 
skilled  musicians  float  through  the  air,  sending 
the  listener  into  dreamland,  their  soothing  effect 
enhanced,  possibly,  by  the  magic  effect  of  a  mug 
of  golden  Bass  and  the  clouds  blown  from  a 
fragrant  weed.  And  ever  and  always  there  is 
the  procession  of  beauty,  daintily  clad,  that 
pampers  the  eye  and  gives  rein  to  pleasant  im- 
aginations. A  garden  of  pretty  girls  in  a  set- 
ting of  sweet  sound — that  is  a  good  definition 
of  the  summer  night  concerts  in  Chicago. 

The  concerts  at  the  armory  are  given  under 
the  direction  of  Mr.  Anson  Temple,  the  same 
active  gentleman  who  manages  the  Schiller 
theatre  on  Randolph  street. 


CHAPTER    XXVII 

SPECIAL     FEATURES    OF    CHICAGO. 

HERE  are  not  a  few  sights  worth 
seeing  in  Chicago  a  detailed 
description  of  which  has  been 
overlooked  in  the  compilation 
of  the  preceding  chapters. 
It  may  not  be  amiss  to  set 
down  a  few  of  them  as  briefly  as  may  be  and 
permit  the  reader  to  suit  himself  in  the  matter 
of  paying  them  a  visit  of  inspection  or  not. 

First  in  importance  of  these,  perhaps,  is  the 
elevated  railroad,  running  from-  Congress  street 
to  Thirty-ninth  through  the  alley  between  State 
street  and  Wabash  avenue.  This  is  the  South 
side  line.  The  West  Side,  or  Lake  street  "L" 
road,  is  in  rapid  course  of  construction  but  will 
not  be  finished  for  some  time  yet.  Another 
road,  along  Ogden  avenue,  is  also  projected, 
and  though  it  is  reasonably  certain  to  be  built 
some  day  its  completion  is  too  far  distant  to 
merit  extended  notice. 

The  South  side  "L"  road  commenced  opera- 
tions about  the  first  of  June  of  the  present  year. 
Its  cars  are  well  built,  roomy  and  well  ventilated 
and  the  run  over  the  route  to  Thirty-ninth  street 


2I7 

is  made  in  about  fourteen  minutes.      The  road 
is  to  be  extended  south    to    the    world's    fair 
grounds    in    time  for  the  opening  of  that  great 
enterprise.       Accustomed    as  Chicagoans  have 
always  been  to  the  introduction  of  novelties  the 
sight    of  the  elevated  railroad  cars  skimming 
along  on  a  level  with  the  second-story  windows 
of  the  houses  along  the  route  excited  curiosity 
and  interest  for  several  weeks,  and  it  stands  to 
reason  that  strangers,  while   taking    their  first 
ride  in  the   elevated  cars,   will    experience  the 
same  pleasant  emotion.     On  the  day  that  the 
road  was   formally  opened  to  travel   a  number 
of  prominent  citizens   were  invited  to  take  the 
trip,  and    from    the   accounts  published  at  the 
time  it   is  to  be   surmised  that  many  interest- 
ing sights  were  seen  along  the  journey.     The 
families  living  in  the  rooms  facing  the  alley  were 
wholly  unprepared  for  the  passage  of  the  train, 
and  the  clear  and  unobstructed  view  that  could 
be  had  into  their  windows  was  productive  of  no 
end  of  merriment.     Gentlemen  whose  pleasures 
of  the  night  before  had  caused  them  to   sleep 
late  were  surprised  at  their  shaving  mirrors,  and 
ladies  in  every    variety  of   demi-toilette    were 
fain  to  dodge   behind  closet   doors   or  hastily 
draw  the  curtains  as  the  train  loads  of  voyagers 
swept  by.     This  sort  of  thing  was  encountered 
all  along  the  line,  and,  while  the  occupants  of 


218 

dwellings  whose  rear  windows  face  the  alley 
have  learned  to  look  for  the  trains  by  this  time 
and  guard  against  surprise,  one  is  still  occas- 
ionally caught  napping.  The  elevated  railway 
affords  a  rapid  and  pleasant  mode  of  transit. 
Its  trains  run  at  all  hours  of  the  day  and  night. 
The  fair  is  five  cents  for  the  entire  journey., 

Although  it  is  not  altogether  a  pleasant  place 
to  visit  the  county  jail  is  inspected  by  parties 
of    strangers  who  have  a  desire  to  glance  at  a 
dark  side  of  life  in  a  big  city.     There  may  or 
may  not  be  a  number  of  interesting  prisoners  in 
the  jail  at  the  time  of  your  visit,  but  if  not  there 
are  spots  that  will  be  shown  you  by  the  affable 
clerk,  Ben  Price,  that  are  full  of  historical  inter- 
est.    "Murderer's  Row,"  the  line  of  dingy  cells 
in  which  candidates  for  the  gallows  are  confined, 
generally  has  at  least  one  occupant,  and  let  us 
hope  it  will  be  empty  when  the  reader  sees  it. 
The  petty  criminals,  or  those  awaiting  trial,  are 
allowed  to  roam  during  the  day  in  the  cage  and 
converse  at  stated  intervals  with  their  relatives 
or  friends  through  the  wire    grating.     In   this 
place  Louis  Lingg,  the  anarchist,  whose  dread- 
ful suicide  is  referred  to  in  another  chapter,  used 
to  enjoy  weekly  interviews  with  his  sweetheart, 
the  young  girl  who  is  said  to  have  given  him  the 
bomb   with    which  he   cheated  the  gallows  by 
blowing  off  his  head.    In  interviews  of  this  sort 


2IQ 

the  prisoner  stands  on  one  side  of  the  wire  grat- 
ing, the  visitor  on  the  other.  "Lingg's  girl,"  as 
the  jail  habitues  used  to  call  her,  is  said  to  have 
given  her  sweetheart  the  bomb  by  means  of  a 
kiss  between  the  bars,  passing  the  deadly  little 
instrument  from  her  mouth  to  his  at  the  mo- 
ment their  lips  met.  This  is  of  course  only  a 
jail  story,  but  as  there  is  no  other  known  man- 
ner in  which  the  doomed  man  could  have  se- 
cured the  bomb,  -it  must  be  accepted  in  lieu  of 
a  better  explanation. 

There  is  a  "visiting"  day  at  the  jail  each  week, 
on  which  the  friends  of  the  prisoners  are  per- 
mitted to  bring  them  delicacies.  Old  women 
with  baskets  in  their  arms  trudge  in  and  stand 
with  tearful  eyes  as  their  hopeful  sons  or  grand- 
sons greedily  devour  the  contents.  Many  a 
pitiful  sight  is  to  be  witnessed  and  the  visitor 
may,  perhaps,  come  away  with  a  strengthened 
determination  never  to  get  into  jail  himself  if 
he  can  help  it.  A  call  at  the  sheriff's  office  is 
all  that  is  necessary  to  secure  a  pass  to  the  jail. 
It  is  situated  on  the  north  side  on  Michigan 
street,  close  to  Clark. 

Some  of  the  great  buildings  of  Chicago,  re- 
cently finished,  are  well  worth  inspection.  One 
of  the  newest  of  these,  the  Temple,  on  La  Salle 
street,  is  one  of  the  sights  of  the  city.  Its  cost 
was  $1,100,000,  and  the  estimated  income  from 


220 


its  rents  is  $250,000  a  year.  Just  across  the 
street,  in  the  Home  Insurance  building,  is  the 
office  of  Armour  &  Co.  There  are  three  hun- 
dred well  disciplined  employes  here,  and  they 
move  about  their  business  like  clock-work.  Mr. 
P.  D.  Armour,  who  is,  perhaps,  the  richest  man 
in  the  west,  sits  at  an  unpretentious  desk 
among  his  ''boys/'  as  he  calls  them,  and  spends 
as  many  hours  here  daily  as  any  of  them. 
Other  great  buildings  within  fifteen  minutes 
walk  of  this  one  are  the  Rookery,  Royal  Insur- 
ance building,  Republic  Life  building,  Tacoma 
building,  Phoenix  building,  Monadnock  and 
Kearsage  building,  Manhattan  building,  Insur- 
ance Exchange  building,  Pontiac  building. 

The  gigantic  Masonic  Temple,  at  the  north- 
east corner  of  State  and  Randolph  street,  de- 
serves special  mention.  It  towers  skyward  un- 
til its  roof  is  almost  lost  in  the  clouds.  The 
idea  of  a  grand  Masonic  temple  in  Chicago  is 
twenty  years  old,  and  western  Masons  are  re- 
sponsible for  the  erection  of  the  superb  struc- 
ture, which  is  an  everlasting  honor  to  themselves 
and  a  credit  to  the  city.  The  building,  which 
is  without  doubt  one  of  the  finest  in  the  world, 
was  completed  this  spring.  The  company  erect- 
ing it  is  capitalized  at  $2,000,000,  the  price  per 
share  being  #100.  It  has  an  interior  court 
measuring  ninety  feet  north  and  south, by  forty- 


ICE  BARRYMORE. 
JESSIE  BARTLETT    DAVIS. 


RICHARD  MANSFIEU 
MATTIE  HARVEY. 


221 


five  east  and  west,  the  walls  of  which  are  faced 
with  marble  of  variegated  colors,  with  a  bronze 
staircase  winding  its  devious  way  from  the 
ground  floor  to  the  roof.  There  are  fourteen 
passenger  and  two  freight  elevators,  each  of 
which  makes  a  round  trip  every  three  minutes. 
An  entire  morning  may  be  profitably  passed  in 
inspecting  this  mighty  structure,  the  magnifi- 
cence of  which,  perhaps,  cannot  be  duplicated 
on  the  continent,  if  indeed,  in  the  entire  uni- 
verse. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 


J 


A    FEW    FINAL    WORDS. 

IN  view  of  the 
fact  that  the  re- 
mainder of  this  lit- 
tle work  will  be  de- 
voted  to  the 
World's  Fair- 
that  mighty  gath- 
ering of  all  na- 
tions in  myriads  of 
manifold  variety, 
which  will  concen- 
trate the  attention 
of  the  civilized 
earth  upon  Chicago — a  few  farewell  hints  to  the 
stranger  may  not  be  out  of  place. 

An  effort  has  been  made  to  carefully  describe 
the  places  of  public  entertainment,  of  all  sorts 
and  conditions,  within  the  city's  confines — in 
short,  to  furnish  the  visitor  with  a  faithful  and 
accurate  "  pleasure-seeker's  a  guide  "  in  fact  as 
well  as  in  name.  How  well  that  task  has  been 
accomplished  is  a  matter  resting  with  the  opin- 
ion of  the  investigating  reader. 


223 

In  treating  of  resorts  in  attractions  that  are 
not  of  a  kind  to  excite  the  admiration  of  peo- 
ple of  tender  sensibilities  or  strongly  pro- 
nounced views,  no  effort  has  been  made  to  des- 
cant on  any  impropriety  or  undesirability  that 
may  exist.  The  author,  throughout  this  work, 
has  been  actuated  by  one  motive — to  tell  facts 
and  to  tell  them  briefly. 

The  multitudes  from  all  nations  who  will 
make  the  great  city  by  the  lake  their  Mecca 
during  the  Fair  will  find  here  a  hearty  welcome 
and  innumerable  ways  of  spending  their  time 
pleasantly.  They  will  also  find,  probably,  the 
same  crowds  of  rascals,  in  all  guises,  that  kept 
the  police  so  busy  Muring  the  Philadelphia  and 
Paris  exhibitions.  Every  man's  good  common 
sense  must  be  his  own  guide,  both  in  looking 
out  for  crooks  and  in  seeking  channels  of  legiti- 
mate diversion  for  his  unoccupied  hours. 

That  is  all — and  it  is  enough.  We  pass  on 
now  to  a  consideration  of  the  colossal  project 
which  is  to  make  Chicago's  name  a  household 
word  on  the  tongue  of  the  world's  enlightened 
nations. 


THE  GREAT  WORLD'S  FAIR. 


1.    THE    PROJECT    OF  THE  WORLD'S    COLUMBIAN  EXPO- 
SITION. 

EVEN  at  the  pres- 
ent time,  nearly  a 
year  before  the  date 
set  for  the  opening  of 
the  World's  Colum- 
bian Exposition,  the 
site  upon  which  it  is 
to  be  given  forms  the 
main  object  of  inter- 
est to  Chicagoans  as 
well  as  visitors.  This 
interest  will,  of  course, 
be  heightened  as  time 
passes  on  until  it 
culminates  in  the  at- 
tendance of  visiting  millions  at  the  exhibit,  which 
will  stand  unrivaled  in  the  history  of  the  nations. 
The  World's  Fair  grounds  are  in  Jackson  Park, 
seven  miles  from  the  business  center  of  the  city, 
and  any  one  who  has  noticed  within  the  last  year 
or  so  the  great  expanse  of  swampy,  uneven  ground 
would  not  recognize  it  to-day,  so  stupendous  has 
been  the  transformation.  The  great  expanse,  half 


225 

wilderness,  half  prairie,  which  stretches  away  south- 
ward from  the  Park  on  the  shores  of  the  Lake, 
has  been  transformed  into  a  miniature  city,  and  the 
great  buildings,  several  of  them  in  a  state  border- 
ing on  completion,  tower  high  toward  the  skies, 
giving  promise  of  the  magnificent  effect  they  will  cre- 
ate when  finished.  If  the  millions  of  people  whose 
eyes  are  directed  in  fancy  upon  this  scene  could 
view  it  in  reality,  they  would  feel  satisfied  that  the 
promises  made  as  to  their  entertainment  will  be 
much  more  than  fulfilled. 

The  shore  line  of  the  Lake  approaching  the 
World's  Fair  grounds  is  graced  by  a  sweeping 
promenade  of  flag-stones.  Entering  the  grounds 
one  is  greeted  by  a  splendid  vision  of  graceful 
lagoons,  wooded  islands  and  colossal  buildings, 
gracefully  ornamented  and  striking  the  beholder 
dumb  with  admiration. 

The  history  of  this  World's  Fair  project  reads 
like  a  romance.  All  the  great  cities  of  the  coun- 
try contested  for  the  honor  of  holding  the  Fair 
within  their  gates.  By  dint  of  splendid  work, 
admirably  strengthened  of  course  by  the  natural 
advantages  it  possessed,  Chicago  won  the  prize, 
and  the  manner  in  which  the  city's  pledges  have 
been  carried  out  fully  justifies  the  selection.  The 
citizens  of  Chicago  raised  over  five  million  dollars 
for  a  guaranty  fund  and  pledged  themselves  to 
have  a  like  amount  in  addition  ready  in  case  it 


226 

should  be  needed.  That  is  one  of  the  reasons 
why  Chicago  secured  the  Fair;  it  was  a  case 
where  "  money  talked."  This  Fair,  which  marks 
the  four  hundredth  birthday  of  this  great  and 
mighty  Nation  will  be  thrown  open  next  year  to  the 
delight  of  the  civilized  world.  The  following  is 
the  proclamation  by  which  President  Harrison  in- 
vited the  Nations  to  participate: 

Whereas,  satisfactory  proof  has  been  presented  to  me  that  pro- 
vision has  been  made  for  adequate  grounds  and  building  for  the  uses 
of  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  and  that  a  sum  not  less  than 
$10,000,000,'to  be  used  and  expended  for  the  purpose  of  said  Expo- 
sition, has  been  provided  in  accordance  with  the  conditions  and  re- 
quirements of  Section  10  of  an  Act  entitled  "An  Act  to  provide  for 
celebrating  the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  discovery  of 
America  by  Christopher  Columbus,  by  holding  an  International  Ex- 
hibition of  arts,  industries,  manufactures  and  products  of  the  soil, 
mine  and  sea,  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  in  the  State  of  Illinois,"  ap- 
proved April  25,  1890, 

Now,  therefore,  I,  Benjamin  Harrison,  President  of  the  United 
States,  by  virtue  of  the  authority  vested  in  me  by  said  Act,  do  hereby 
declare  and  proclaim  that  such  International  Exhibition  will  be 
opened  on  the  first  day  of  May,  in  the  year  1893,  in  the  city  of  Chi- 
cago, in  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  will  not  be  closed  before  the  last 
Thursday  in  October  of  the  same  year. 

And  in  the  name  of  the  Government,  and  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  I  do  hereby  invite  all  the  Nations  of  the  earth  to  take 
part  in  the  commemoration  of  an  event  that  is  preeminent  in  human 
history  and  of  lasting  interest  to  mankind  by  appointing  representa- 
tives thereto,  and  sending  such  exhibits  to  the  World's  Columbian 
Exposition  as  will  most  fitly  and  fully  illustrate  their  resources,  their 
industries  and  their  progress  in  civilization. 

In  testimony  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  caused 
the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

Done  at  the  city  of  Washington,  this  twenty-fourth  day  of  De- 
cember, in  the  year  of  our  Lord  One  Thousand  Eight  Hundred  and 


227 

Ninety,  and  the  independance  of  the  United    States  the  One  Hun- 
dred and  Fifteenth. 

By  the  President.  [Signed]      BKNJ.  HARRISON. 

[Signed]     JAMES  G.  BLAINB,  Secretary  of  State. 

The  World's  Fair  grounds  embrace  a  total  of 
1,037  acres  and  the  two  adjoining  parks,  Jackson 
and  Washington,  form  a  part  of  the  magnificent 
park  system  of  Chicago,  which  has  been  fully  de- 
scribed in  a  previous  chapter.  It  stand  to  reason 
that  a  project  of  this  scope  can  only  be  under- 
taken under  the  supervision  of  a  great  host  of  of- 
ficers. The  principal  officers  of  the  World's 
Columbial  Exposition  are: 

President,  William  T.  Baker;  Vice  Presidents,  Thomas  B.  Bryan, 
Potter  Palmer;  Secretary  and  Solicitor  General,  Benj.  Butterworth; 
Assistant  Secretary,  J.  H.  Kingwill;  Treasurer,  Anthony  F.  Seeber- 
ger;  Auditor,  William  K.  Ackerman,  Traffic  Manager,  E.  E.  Jaycox. 

BOARD  OF  REFERENCE  AND  CONTROL. 

William  T.  Baker,  Potter  Palmer,  Ferd  W.  Peck,  Fred  S.  Win- 
ston, Thomas  B  Bryan,  Lyman  J.  Gage,  Edwin  Walker,  H.  N. 
Higinbotham. 

EXECUTIVE    COMMITTE. 

William  T.  Baker,  President;  Thomas  B.  Bryan,  Vice  President; 
Potter  Palmer,  Second  Vice  President.  Ferd  W.  Peck,  Robert  A. 
Waller,  William  D.  Kerfoot,  Robert  C.  dowry,  Edwin  Walker,  H. 
N.  Higinbotham,  A.  H.  Revell,  Lyman  J.Gage,  Charles  H.  Schwab, 
Martin  A.  Ryerson,  Charles  L.  Hutchinson,  John  J.  P.  Odell,  Mar- 
shall M.  Kirkman. 

The  officers  of  the  National  Commission  are  : 

President,  Thomas  W.  Palmer,  Michigan;  Director-General, 
George  R.  Davis,  Illinois;  First  Vice  President,  Thomas  W.  Waller, 
Connecticut;  Second  Vice  President,  M.  H.  De  Young,  California; 


228 

Third  Vice  President.  Davidson  B.  Perm.  Louisiana;  Fourth  Vice 
President,  Gorton  W.  Allen,  New  York;  Fifth  Vice  President,  Alex- 
ander P.  Andrews,  North  Carolina;  Secretary,  John  T.  Dickinson, 
Texas.  • 

The  National  Commission  is  composed  of  eight 
commissioners  at  large  and  two  for  every  State 
and  Territory  in  the  Union,  with  two  alternates. 
There  are  standing  committees  as  follows :  Execu- 
tive, Judicial,  Tariffs  and  Transportation,  Foreign 
Affairs,  Fine  Arts,  Science,  History,  Literature 
and  Education,  Agriculture,  Live  Stock,  Horti- 
culture and  Floriculture,  Finance,  Auditing,  Cere- 
monies, Classification,  Manufacture,  Commerce, 
Mines  and  Mining,  Fisheries. and  Fish  Culture, 
Electrical  and  Pneumatical  Appliances,  Forestry 
and  Lumber,  Machinery,  World's  Congresses, 
Printing,  Grounds  and  Buildings,  Federal  Legis- 
lation, Awards,  Reference,  and  Control. 

There  is  also  a  Board  of  Lady  Managers  com- 
posed of  two  members  for  every  State  and  Terri- 
tory of  the  Union,  with  alternates,  under  whose 
supervision  woman's  share  in  the  exhibit  is  being 
prepared.  The  following  are  the  officers  in  the 
Board  of  Lady  Managers : 

President,  Mrs.  Potter  Palmer;  First  Vice  President,  Mrs.  Ralph 
Trautmann;  Second  Vice  President,  Mrs.  E.  C.  Burleigh;  Third 
Vice  President,  Mrs  Charles  Price;  Fourth  Vice  President,  Miss 
K  L.  Minor;  Fifth  Vice  President,  Mrs.  Beriah  Wilkins;  Sixth  Vice 
President.  Mrs  S.  R.  Ashley;  Seventh  Vice  President,  Mrs.  F.  B 
Ginty;  Eighth  Vice  President,  Mrs.  M.  B.  Salisbury;  Vice  President 
at  Large,  Mrs.  R.  D.  Harrison;  Secretary,  Mrs  Susan  G  Cooke. 


229 

There  is  also  a  body  known  as  The  World's  Con- 
gress Auxiliary,  which  is  an  organization  authorized 
and  supported  by  the  Exposition  corporation  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  to  Chicago  a  series  of  world's 
conventions  of  leaders  in  the  various  departments 
of  human  progress  during  the  Exposition  season 
of  1893.  The  auxiliary  has  also  been  recognized 
by  the  Government  of  the  United  States  as  the 
appropriate  agency  to  conduct  this  important  work. 
Its  general  announcement  has  been  sent  to  foreign 
governments  by  the  department  of  State,  and  an 
appropriation  for  its  expenses  has  been  made  by 
act  of  Congress. 

The  Auxiliary  consist  of  an  active  membership 
of  persons  residing  in  Chicago  or  sufficiently  near 
to  attend  committee  meetings  without  inconve- 
nience and  a  nonresident  membership  divided  into 
advisory  councils  of  the  different  departments  of 
progress  and  honorary  and  corresponding  mem- 
bers. Each  committee  has  its  own  advisory  coun- 
cil, composed  of  eminent  leaders  of  the  world  in 
the  department  to  which  it  relates.  Honorary  and 
corresponding  members  are  persons  not  assigned 
to  a  particular  department,  but  whose  prominence 
and  influence  make  their  aid  and  co-operation  de- 
sirable. 

The  officers  of  the  Auxiliary  are  : 

President,  Hon.  Charles  C.  Bonney;  Vice  President,  Hon.  Thos. 
B.  Bryan;  Treasurer,  Hon.  Lyman  J    Gage;  Secretary,  Hon.  Benja- 


230 


tnin  Butterworth.  There  is  also  a  President  of  the  Woman's  Branch 
of  the  Auxiliary,  Mrs.  Potter  Palmer,  and  a  Vice  President.  Mrs. 
Charles  Henrotin. 

The  dimensions  and  costs  of  the  various  buildings 
are  shown  complete  in  the  following  table: 


BUILDINGS. 

Dimensions 
in  feet 

Area 
acres. 

Cost. 

Mines  and  Mining  

350  x   700 

5  6 

$    260  000 

Manufactures  and  Liberal  Arts.  .  .  . 
Horticulture  

787  x  1687 
250  x  1000 

30.5 
5  8 

1.100.000 
300  000 

Electricity  

345  x  700 

5.5 

375  000 

Woman's  : 

200  x  400 

1.8 

120  000 

Transportation  

250  x  960 

5  5 

280  000 

Administration  

260  x  260 

1.6 

450.000 

Fish  and  Fisheries  

163  x  363 

1.4  i 

Annexes  (2)  

135  diam. 

-8  \" 

200.000 

Agriculture  

500  x  800 

9.2 

540.000 

Annex  

328  x   500 

3.8  ) 

Assembly  hall,  etc  

450  x  500 

5.2  f 

200  000 

Machinery.  . 

500  x  850 

9.8  ) 

Annex  

490  x  551 

6.2  t 

1.200.000 

Power  House  

80  x  600 

1.1  ) 

Fine  Arts  

320  x  500 

3  7  | 

Annexes  (2)  

120  x   200 

1   if 

500.000 

Forestry  

200  x  500 

2  3 

100  000 

Saw-Mill  

125  x  300 

9 

35  000 

Dairy  

95  x   200 

.5 

30.000 

Live  Stock  (3)  

65  x  200 

.9  ) 

Live  Stock  Sheds  

40.0  j 

150.000 

Casino  

175  x   800 

1.2 

150.000 

Total   

144.4 

$5.990.000 

350  x  420 

3.4 

400.000 

Battle  Ship  

348x69.25 

.3 

100.000 

Illinois  State  

160  x  450 

1.7 

250.000 

State  Annexes  (2)  

.3 

Grand  Total   . 

150.1 

$6.740.000 

The  first  two  of  these  are  erected  by  the  United 
States  Government,  and  the  third  by  the  State  of 
Illinois.  They  will  form  a  striking  portion  of  the 
group  of  buildings  surrounding  the  lagoons.  In 


/  231 

addition  to  these  buildings  at  the  north  end  of  the 
Park,  buildings  will  be  erected  that  are  to  be  de- 
voted to  individul  States  and  the  foreign  Govern- 
ments structures,  probably  one  hundred  in  all.  The 
latter  will  surround  the  gallery  of  fine  arts  at  the 
north  end  of  the  lagoon.  On  the  Midway  Plais- 
ance  the  visitor  will  find  special  features,  such  as 
the  bazaar  of  all  Nations,  the  street  of  Cairo,  the 
Constantinople  Street,  the  Japanese  village,  the 
German  village,  etc. 

Among  the  various  buildings  in  a  more  or  less 
advanced  state  of  construction,  the  ADMINISTRA- 
TION BUILDING  at  once  challenges  attention,  being 
regarded  as  the  finest  It  stands  at  the  west  end 
of  the  great  court  in  the  southern  part  of  the  site, 
facing  eastward,  the  transportation  facilities  and 
depots  being  immediately  in  its  rear.  The  Ad- 
ministration Building  cost  $450,000,  and  its  lofty 
dome  is  observable  from  all  parts  of  the  grounds. 
It  consists  of  four  pavilions,  each  eighty-four  feet 
square,  one  at  each  of  the  four  angles  of  the 
square  and  connected  by  the  central  dome,  which 
is  120  feet  in  diameter  and  220  feet  in  height. 
The  design  of  this  building  is  after  the  French 
renaissance,  the  first  story  being  on  the  Doric 
order  of  architecture  of  heroical  proportions,  the 
tiers  of  each  pavilion  being  ornamented  with  fine 
sculptures.  On  the  second  story  the  Ionic  style 
prevails.  There  are  four  great  entrances  fifty  feet 


232 

wide  and  fifty  feet  high,  covered  with  huge  arched 
vaults.  Above  the  entrance  doors  are  enormous 
screens  of  glass,  through  which  light  is  given  to 
the  central  rotunda.  Galleries  connect  between 
the  different  pavilions.  The  internal  features  of 
the  building  are  even  more  magnificent  Between 
every  two  of  the  grand  entrances  is  a  hall  thirty 
feet  square,  giving  access  to  the  offices.  The  ro- 
tunda is  octagonally  formed,  the  first  story  con- 
sisting of  eight  great  arched  openings,  correspond- 
ing in  size  to  the  arches  at  the  entrance.  The 
second  story,  fifty  feet  in  height  rises  above  the 
balcony,  and  from  this  rises  the  interior  dome,  200 
feet  from  the  floor,  in  the  center  of  which  is  an 
opening  fifty  feet  in  diameter  and  through  which 
light  falls  from  the  exterior  dome  overhead.  The 
interior  of  the  dome  is  richly  paneled  and  moulded, 
the  panels  being  ornamented  with  sculpture  and 
paintings  of  numerous  size  and  splendid  design. 
The  corner  pavilions  are  divided  into  offices  for 
the  administration,  lobbies  and  toilet  rooms.  The 
fire  and  police  departments  are  located  on  the 
ground  floor.  In  the  second  pavilion  are  the  am- 
bulance offices  and  other  departments ;  in  the 
third,  a  bank  and  post  office;  in  the  fourth,  a 
restaurant. 

Next  in  magnitude  to  the  Administration  Build- 
ing, perhaps,  is  the  Transportation  Building, which 
is  one  of  a  group  of  edifices  forming  the  north- 


/  233 

ern  architectural  court  of  the  Exposition.  It  is 
situated  between  the  horticultural  and  mines 
buildings,  facing  eastward  and  commanding  a  view 
of  the  floral  island  and  part  of  the  lagoon.  The 
building  is  simple  in  its  outlines,  but  rich  and  elab- 
orate in  detail.  The  cupola  of  the  Transportation 
Building,  reached  by  eight  elevators,  commands  a 
most  beautiful  view  of  the  entire  exterior  Exposi- 
tion. The  main  entrance  is  in  the  form  of  a  single 
arch,  richly  carved  and  decorated  with  bas  reliefs 
and  mural  paintings.  The  main  part  of  the  build- 
ing is  composed  of  a  continuous  arcade  in  which 
numerous  minor  entrances  are  pierced,  while  al- 
most at  every  place  are  grouped  terraces,  drink- 
ing fountains,  statues,  etc.  The  main  part  of  the 
building  is  900  feet  front  by  250  feet  deep,  from 
which  extend  a  huge  annex  one  story  in  height, 
covering  about  nine  acres.  In  the  annex,  the 
more  bulky  exhibits  are  to  be  found.  Along  the 
central  avenues  scores  of  locomotive  engines  will  be 
found,  highly  polished  and  greatly  adding  to  the 
grandeur  of  the  effect.  In  this  building  will  be 
found  exhibits  of  everything  connected  with  trans- 
portation, from  a  carrier  pigeon  to  a  traction  en- 
gine. 

Passing  from  the  Transportation  Building  one 
comes  to  Machinery  Hall,  which  is  said  to  be 
second  only  in  magnificence  to  the  Administration 
Building.  Machinery  Hali  is  located  at  the  ex- 


-54 

treme  south  of  the  Park,  between  the  west  Park 
line  and  Lake  Michigan,  standing  south  of  the 
Administration  Building  across  the  lagoon  from  the 
Agricultural  Building.  This 
building  is  spanned  by  three 
great  archways,  and  the  in- 
terior looks  not  unlike  three 

5i 

railroad  train 
houses  grouped  side 
by  side.  The  arches 
or  trusses  are  built  sep- 
arately and  will  be  sold 
after  the  Exposition  is  over 
to  the  railroads  for  use  as 
train  houses.  The  building 
has  numerous  platforms  upon 
which  visitors  may  stand  and 
view  all  that  is  transpiring.  A 
power-house  adjoining  will  supply 
all  the  power  needed.  The  entire 
group  of  buildings  in  this  vicinity  is  de- 
wj  7/  signed  so  as  to  conform  with  the  idea  of 
Jf  a  Spanish  town,  the  same  being  consid- 
•  ered  appropriate  in  a  Columbian  celebration. 
Between  the  Machinery  and  Agricultural  Halls 
is  a  space  covered  by  a  colonnade  and  cafe;  in  the 
center  is  an  archway  which,  if  followed  to  the  end, 
will  lead  the  visitor  to  the  cattle  exhibit.  There  is 


235 

also  a  portico  which  affords  a  view  of  nearly  a  mile 
down  the  lagoon.  Machinery  Hall  has  an  annex 
covering  between  four  and  five  acres,  thus  increas- 
ing the  length  of  the  actual  building  to  about  1,400 
feet.  It  ranks  second  of  the  larger  structures  of 
the  Exposition. 

The  Woman's  Building,  it  is  safe  to  say,  will 
be  the  main  object  of  interest  to  a  large  number 
of  visitors  at  the  Fair.  It  is  situated  in  the  north- 
west part  of  the  Park,  facing  the  great  lagoon  with 
the  beauty  island  of  flowers  at  its  front  In  this 
building  will  be  grouped  exhibits  showing  woman's 
work  in  every  conceivable  form,  and  judging  by 
the  progress  made  at  this  writing,  the  building 
itself  will  be  no  less  splendid  than  the  array  of 
marvels  it  will  contain.  In  front  of  the  Woman's 
Building  the  lagoon  stretches  out  to  a  bay  400 
feet  in  width,  from  the  center  of  which  a  landing 
and  staircase  leads  to  a  wide  terrace.  Above  the 
terrace  are  other  staircases  giving  access  to  the 
ground  floor  of  the  building  itself.  On  the  first 
terrace  are  artistically  designed  flower  beds  and 
shrubs,  and  the  building  itself,  in  the  style  of  the 
Italian  renaissance  will  be  considered  one  of  the 
most  attractive  points  for  the  visitor.  The  main 
grouping  of  the  building  consists  in  a  center  pavil- 
ion with  a  corner  pavilion  at  each  end,  connected 
at  the  first  pavilion  with  open  arcades.  There  is 
a  shady  promenade  the  whole  length  of  the  struc- 


236 

ture.  The  first  floor  is  ten  feet  above  the  ground 
line.  The  pavilion  is  reached  by  a  wide  staircase 
which  forms  the  main  triple-arched  entrance.  The 
corner  pavilions  are  two  stories  high,  where  are 
located  the  hanging  gardens  and  the  committee 
rooms  of  the  Board  of  Lady  Managers.  There 
is  a  lobby  forty  feet  wide  leading  into  the  rotunda, 
the  latter  being  surrounded  by  an  open  arcade  of 
beautiful  design.  On  the  first  floor  of  the  build- 
ing will  be  found  a  model  hospital  and  a  kindergar- 
ten. As  to  exhibits,  the  whole  floor  of  the  south 
pavilion  will  be  devoted  to  the  delineation  of  wo- 
man's work  in  the  past;  the  one  on  the  north  to 
reform  work  and  charity  organization.  Above  this 
are  located  ladies'  parlors,  committee  rooms  and 
dressing  rooms,  all  of  which  lead  to  the  open  bal- 
cony on  the  front.  The  balcony  commands  a  su- 
perb view  of  almost  the  entire  grounds.  In  the 
south  pavilion  will  be  found  the  kitchen  and  re- 
freshment rooms,  etc. 

The  Manufactures  and  Liberal  Arts  Building 
stands  alone  as  the  largest  Exposition  building 
ever  designed,  being  1,687  feet  long  and  787  feet 
wide  and  covering  an  area  of  thirty  and  one-half 
acres.  The  building  is  rectangular  in  form,  its 
great  central  hall  being  its  feature.  The  height  of 
the  roof  is  245^  feet  at  the  apex,  and  the  380  feet 
space  is  covered  by  a  single  arch  without  so  much 
as  a  supporting  column.  The  height  from  the  floor 


237 

to  the  center  of  the  arch  is  201  feet,  the  roof  being 
supported  by  twenty-two  steel  arches,  each  arch 
weighing-  125  tons.  An  idea  of  the  magnitude  of 
this  building  may  be  conceived  from  the  fact  that 
over  5,000  tons  of  steel  were  used  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  main  hall.  Extending  around  this 
hall  is  a  gallery  twenty  feet  from  the  floor,  sixty- 
seven  feet  wide,  twenty-one  feet  of  which  space 
overhangs  the  floor  of  the  hall.  Beyond  the  gal- 
lery is  a  nave  108  feet  wide  and  114  feet  to  the 
roof.  Extending  around  the  nave  into  the  outside 
limit  of  the  building  is  a  gallery  twenty  feet  from 
the  floor  and  forty-nine  and  one-half  feet  wide,  the 
two  galleries  being  connected  by  twenty-eight 
bridges  fifty  feet  in  width  and  108  feet  in  length. 
Forty-one  carloads  of  glass  were  used  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  roof.  The  immensity  of  the  build- 
ing may  be  still  further  conjectured  by  the  fact  that 
it  is  three  times  as  large  as  St.  Peter's  Cathedral 
in  Rome  ;  twenty  buildings  the  size  of  the  Audito- 
rium could  be  placed  side  by  side  on  its  floor,  and 
its  central  floor  is  big  enough  to  seat  50,000  peo- 
ple. The  building,  which  is  in  the  Corinthian 
style  of  architecture,  will  contain,  besides  pavil- 
ions and  promenades,  about  sixteen  large  cafes 
and  seventy-five  private  dining  rooms.  The 
building  faces  the  lake  and  fronts  upon  smooth 
lawns  and  wide  promenades.  Its  estimated  cost 
is  $1,500,000. 


238 

But  the  building  that  will  challenge  the  attention 
of  everybody,  rich  and  poor,  young  and  old  alike, 
will  be  the  ART  PALACE,  which  is  Grecian-Ionican 
style  and  a  pure  type  of  the  most  beautiful  archi- 
tecture. The  Art  Palace  is  500  feet  long  by  320 
wide.  Collections  of  sculpture  will  be  displayed 
on  the  main  floor  of  the  nave  and  transit,  and  on 
the  walls  of  both  the  ground  floor  and  balcony 
will  be  ample  space  for  paintings.  Small  picture 
galleries  will  occupy  the  corners.  All  around  the 
building  are  spacious  galleries  forming  a  continu- 
ous promenade.  In  small  spaces  between  the 
promenade  and  the  naves  are  small  rooms  to  be 
devoted  to  private  collections  and  the  collections 
of  the  various  art  schools.  There  are  also  large 
annexes  to  the  main  building,  which  will  be  used 
for  various  art  exhibits.  There  are  four  entrances 
to  the  main  building  approached  by  broad  flights 
of  stairs.  The  entire  construction  of  the  Art 
Palace  is  the  most  of  classic  order  and  will  compare 
favorably  with  any  Exposition  building  ever  con- 
structed. The  location  of  the  palace  is  the  north- 
ern portion  of  the  Park,  the  south  front  facing  the 
lagoon,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  beautiful  ter- 
races, and  immense  flight  of  steps  lead  from  its 
main  portal  to  the  lagoon,  where  there  is  a  land- 
ing for  gondolas.  Froiji  the  north  front  are  to  be 
seen  the  wide  expanse  of  lawn  and  the  group  of 
State  buildings. 


239 

The  Horticultural  Building  stands  just  south  of 
the  entrance  to  Jackson  Park  from  the  Midway 
Plaisance,  facing  east  on  the  lagoon.  The  front 
of  the  terrace  borders  the  water,  its  center  form- 
ing a  boat  landing.  The  length  of  the  building  is 
1,000  feet  and  its  width  250.  Its  plan  is  a  central 
pavilion  with  two  end  pavilions  connected  by  front 
and  rear  corridors,  forming  two  interior  courts, 
each  270  feet  by  eighty-eight  feet.  A  colossal 
dome  288  feet  in  diameter  crowns  the  central  part 
of  the  pavilion,  under  which  are  to  be  shown  the 
tallest  palms,  bamboos  and  tropical  tree  plants  to 
be  found  anywhere  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  The 
galleries  in  each  of  the  pavilions  have  been'  de- 
signed particularly  for  cafes,  the  surroundings  being 
considered  inducive  to  the  enjoyment  of  refresh- 
ments. On  three  sides  of  these  cafes  stretches  an 
arcade  commanding  a  fine  view  of  the  grounds. 
In  this  building  will  be  found  arrayed  every  variety 
of  flower,  plant,  vine  and  sod,  together  with  a 
complete  array  of  every  implement  used  in  horti- 
culture. Such  parts  of  the  building  as  require  it 
will,  of  course,  be  warmed  to  a  tropical  tempera- 
ture. 

The  Dairy  Building  will  be  of  special  interest 
to  the  agriculturist  for  whose  special  favor  and  ed- 
ification it  was  designed.  Besides  the  exhibits  of 
dairy  products  it  will  contain  a  dairy  school,  in 
connection  with  which  will  be  carried  on  a  series 


240 

of  tests  to  determine  the  various  merits  of  differ- 
ent breeds  of  dairy  cattle  and  milk  and  butter  pro- 
ducers. The  Dairy  Building-  stands  close  to  the 
lake  shore  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  Park, 
and  covers  one-half  acre.  It  measures  200  feet 
by  ninety-five,  and  is  two  stories  in  height.  It  is 
simple  in  design.  On  the  first  floor  appears  a 
large  open  space  to  be  devoted  to  the  butter  ex- 
hibits, while  further  back  will  be  the  large  operat- 
ing room  to  be  devoted  to  the  dairy.  This  room 
will  contain  an  amphitheater  capable  of  accommo- 
dating four  hundred  spectators,  under  whose  seats 
will  be  stored  refrigerators  for  the  care  of  the  pro- 
ducts turned  out.  The  cheese  exhibits  will  be 
placed  in  the  gallery,  the  rest  of  the  second  story 
being  devoted  to  a  cafe  which  overlooks  the  lake. 
The  dairy  school,  which  is  regarded  as  of  special 
interest,  this  being  a  great  agricultural  country, 
will  continue  in  operation  throughout  the  entire 
Fair,  and  will,  no  doubt,  prove  of  surpassing  in- 
terest to  visitors, 

The  Fisheries  Building  is  regarded  as  one  of 
the  most  artistic  of  all,  embracing,  as  it  does,  a 
large  central  structure  with  two  smaller  buildings 
connected  with  it  by  arcades  at  either  end.  The 
extreme  length  of  the  building  is  1,100  feet  and  its 
width  200  feet.  It  stands  to  the  north  of  the 
United  States  Government  Building.  In  one  of 
the  similar  buildings  or  annexes  will  be  found  the 


24 1 

angling-  exhibit  and  in  the  other  the  aquaria.  The 
architecture  of  the  building  is  exceedingly  quaint, 
the  designer  having  arranged  the  ornamentation 
in  such  a  way  as  to  employ  only  fish  and  sea  forms 
for  his  designs.  The  display  of  live  fish  will  be 
something  wonderful.  In  the  middle  of  the  ro- 
tunda will  be  found  a  basin  or  pool  twenty-six  feet 
Wide,  in  the  center  of  which  will  be  a  mass  of 
moss-covered  rocks.  From  crevices  in  this  mass 
will  flow  streams  of  water  to  the  basin  below,  and 
in  this  great  basin  all  sorts  of  live  fish  will  disport 
themselves.  Outside  the  rotunda  is  a  great  cor- 
ridor or  arcade,  on  opposite  sides  of  which  are 
tanks,  great  and  small  to  accommodate  members 
of  the  finny  tribes.  This  arcade  is  fifteen  feet 
wide.  The  glass  fronts  of  the  aquaria  will  have 
3,000  square  feet  of  surface. 


PART  II. 


LOOKING    AROUND. 

A  trip  to  the  World's 
Fair  grounds  even  now 
will  convince  the  visitor 
of  two  things,  namely: 
the  magnitude  of  the 
undertaking  and  the 
steady  approach  of  the 
whole  enterprise  t  o 
completion.  The  ar- 
rangement of  roadways 
whereby  one  may  make 
the  circuit  of  the 
grounds  in  carriage  or  afoot,  stopping  at  every 
point  desired  to  examine  the  details  of  the  work, 
is  excellent.  An  admission  fee  of  twenty-five 
cents  is  now  charged  and  the  readiness  with 
which  thousands  of  persons  pay  it  everyday  for 
the  privilege  of  taking  a  look  around  is  some 
index  to  the  probabilities  with  regard  to  the  at- 
tendance a  year  hence. 

Besides  the  buildings  mentioned  in  a  preced- 
ing chapter  there  are  the  following:  The  For- 
estry building,  Electrical  building,  Agricultural 
building,  Mines  and  Mining,  Government 


243 

building,  Illinois  State  building,  the  casino  and 
pier,  the  United  States  naval  exhibit.  Before 
proceeding  further  these  may  be  briefly  sketched. 
The  dimensions  of  the  Forestry  building  are 
500  by  200  feet.  The  architecture  is  rustic  in 
style  and  is  surrounded  by  a  veranda  and  colon- 
nade, the  latter  consisting  of  a  series  of  columns 
composed  of  three  tree  trunks  25  feet  long,  one 
of  which  is  16  to  20  inches  in  diameter  and  the 
others  of  smaller  girth.  The  tree  trunks  have 
been  permitted  to  retain  their  bark,  thereby 
creating  a  unique  effect.  They  come  from  all 
states  and  countries,  each  of  which  has  contri- 
buted a  specimen  of  the  best  known  tree.  The 
building  itself  is  constructed  of  slabs  and 
thatched  with  various  barks,  the  interior  being 
finished  in  woods  in  such  a  manner  as  to  show 
the  graining  and  polishing  susceptibilities  of 
each.  Tablets  on  the  tree  trunks  forming  the 
colonnades  will  inform  the  visitor  as  to  where 
each  came  from,  with  other  interesting  informa- 
tion. Flags  will  float  above  this  building,  de- 
noting the  different  nations  whose  products  are 
on  exhibition  within.  The  forestry  exhibit  may 
be  considered  as  one  of  the  most  interesting  to 
be  found  at  the  fair,  comprising,  as  it  will,  logs 
and  sections  of  trees  and  "worked"  lumber  in 
every  form,  such  as  shingles,  flooring,  casing, 
etc.  Look  also  for  dye  woods,  barks,  mosses, 


244 

lichens,  gums,  rosins,  cocoanut  shells,  gourds, 
rattan,  willow-ware  and  wooden-ware,  tubs, 
brooms,  etc.  More  than  one  saw  mill  will  be 
seen  in  active  operation  and  will  be  quite  dis- 
tinct from  the  exhibits  of  saw-mill  and  wood, 
working  machinery  on  view  in  Machinery  hall. 
The  Forestry  building  is  one  of  the  cheapest  at 
the  Fair,  costing  only  $35,000,  but  its  projec- 
tors expect  it  to  be  by  no  means  the  least  en- 
tertaining or  instructive. 

The  Electrical  building  will  be  one  of  the 
most  important,  the  exhibit  of  electrical  appli- 
ances and  devices  being  expected  to  enchain 
the  attention  of  scientists  and  experts  as  well 
as  the  uniniated  millions.  The  building  is  700 
feet  in  width  by  345  feet  in  length,  and  has  been 
constructed  on  magnificent  plans  at  a  cost  of 
$345,000.  It  is  two  stories  in  height  and  con- 
tains spacious  galleries  from  which  crowds  may 
view  all  that  is  going  on  below.  In  the  north 
end  of  the  building  is  a  great  semi-circle  win- 
dow, above  which,  102  feet  from  the  ground,  is 
a  spacious  gallery,  affording  the  visitor  a  wide 
view  of  the  lagoon  and  that  part  of  the  grounds 
stretching  to  the  north.  In  a  niche  at  the  south 
part  of  the  Electrical  building  is  a  heroic  statue 
of  Benjamin  Franklin,  whose  name  connects 
American  history  with  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant discoveries  of  modern  times.  The  build- 


245 

ing  has  four  pavilions,  with  towers  169  feet 
high.  There  are  domes,  spires  and  columns 
adorning  the  building  with  an  architectural  and 
imposing  magnificence  that  rivets  the  attention 
at  first  sight  and  makes  it  one  of  the  most 
striking  attractions  in  the  grounds.  It  is  need- 
less to  say  that  the  exhibit  will  show  everything 
in  connection  with  the  marvelous  power,  elec- 
tricity, discoveries  in  which,  some  people  claim, 
are  yet  in  their  infancy  and  the  rapid  advance- 
ments in  which  are  destined  ultimately  to  revo- 
utionize  the  world. 

The  Agricultural  building,  800  feet  in  length 
by  500  feet  in  width,  stands  close  to  the  shore 
of  the  lake,  its  east  side  fronting  upon  a  har- 
bor of  refuge  for  pleasure  craft.  The  designs 
of  the  building,  which  is  but  one  story  in  height, 
is  bold  and  impressive.  On  either  side  of  the 
main  entrance  are  Corinthian  pillars,  fifty  feet 
high.  The  main  entrance  is  60  feet  wide  and 
leads  into  a  vestibule,  thence  into  a  rotunda  100 
feet  in  diameter.  Above  the  rotunda  is  a  large 
glass  dome,  130  feet  in  height.  To  the  south 
of  the  Agricultural  building  proper  is  the  vast 
structure  to  be  devoted  to  the  live  stock  exhibit 
and  agricultural  assembly  hall.  The  elevated 
railway  station  affords  every  access  to  the  build- 
ing. In  it  will  be  held  the  meetings  of  all  per- 
sons interested  in  live  stock.  There  will  also 


246 

be  a  bureau  of  information,  spacious  waiting  and 
toilet  rooms;  also  an  assembly  room  with  a  seat- 
ing capacity  of  1,500,  and  complete  facilities 
for  lectures,  etc.  More  than  twelve  acres  of 
ground  are  covered  by  the  Agricultural  build- 
ing and  its  annex. 

The  Mines  and  Mining  building  is  one  of  the 
most  imposing  on  the  grounds  and  stands  at 
the  south  end  of  the  western  lagoon,  between 
the  Transportation  and  Electricity  buildings, 
being  700  feet  in  length  by  750  feet  in  widtji. 
From  its  balconies  and  porticos  splendid  views 
may  be  had  of  a  vast  portion  of  the  grounds 
and  in  its  front  are  spacious  lawns  dotted  with 
flowers.  The  wonders  to  be  found  in  this 
building  cannot  be  adequately  described  in  ad- 
vance. Mines  of  all  sorts,  in  every  stage  of 
operation,  are  to  be  shown.  The  visitor  may 
feast  his  eyes  on  piles  of  silver  and  gold  in 
every  stage,  from  the  ore  freshly  taken  from  the 
earth  to  the  gleaming  double-eagles,  most  royal 
of  all  the  coins !  And  silver  dollars  fresh  from 
the  mint.  And  precious  stones!  They  will 
be  there  in  every  variety  and  all  stages  ot  pre- 
paration. A  promise  has  been  made  that  an 
African  diamond  mine  will  be  shown  in  active 
operation.  At  one  point  will  be  seen  the  dusky 
native  delving  for  the  rarest  of  gems;  at  an- 
other a  skilled  workman  cutting  and  setting 


247 

brilliants  of  "purest  ray  serene."  All  this  and 
much  more  will  this  wonderful  building  contain; 
and  it  is  a  uestion  whether  any  other  will  pos- 
sess so  great  a 
charm  for  the 
crowds  who  will 
be  apt  to  stand 
there  and  let 
their  mouths 
water  in  awe- 
some hunger  at 
the  sight  of  so  vast 
an  aggregation  of 
wealth. 

The  Government 
building  is  situated  on 
the  lake  shore,  south  of 
the  main  lagoon,  near 
to  the  buildings  of  Eng- 
land, Germany  and 
Mexico.  It  is  built  of 
iron,  brick  and  glass  at 
a  cost  of  $400,000.  All 
the  departments  of  the 
Government,  such  as 
post-office,  war  office,  etc.,  will  make 
special  exhibits.  Ample  space  has  been 
allotted  for  the  exhibits  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institute  and  interior  department.  The 


248 

government  exhibits  include  the  mint,  the  coast 
and  the  geodetic  survey,  the  bureau  of  engrav- 
ing and  printing,  the  bureau  of   statistics,    the 
life-saving  board,  the  light  house  board  and  the 
marine  hospital.     The  life-saving  exhibit  shows 
a  life-saving  station  built  and  equipped   with 
every  appliance  and  a  regular  crew  which  will  go 
through  all  the  life-saving  maneuvers  in   prac- 
tice on  the   coasts.     The   coast  survey   exhibit 
includes  a  mammoth  map  of  the  United  States, 
400  feet  square,  constructed  of  plaster  of  paris, 
and  placed  horizontally  on  the  ground  beneath 
a   covering  erected    over  it.     By    a  system  of 
galleries  and  pathways  on  the  inside  the  visitor 
may  "walk  over  the  whole  United  States"  with- 
out touching  it, as  one  recent  writer  has  expressed 
himself.      The    scale    of    the    map    accurately 
shows  the  exact  height  of.all  the  mountains  and 
the  depth  of  all  the  rivers  in  the  United  States. 
Here  is  a  fine  chance  for  a  lesson  in  geography. 
The  war  department  exhibit  shows  all  the  uni- 
forms ever  worn  by  United  States'  soldiers,   a 
telephone  as  it  would  be  used  on  the  battle-field, 
besides  all  means  of  army  telegraphing  and  sig- 
naling. 

The  naval  exhibit  will  without  doubt  attract  a 
great  share  of  attention.  It  consists  of  a  struc- 
ture, erected  in  the  lake,  typifying  with  marvel- 
ous accuracy  one  of  the  new  coast-line  battle- 


249 

ships  recently  constructed  for  the  American 
navy.  The  structure  stands  on  piling  at  the 
edge  of  the  lake  at  the  northeast  side  of  Jack- 
son park.  Being  quite  surrounded  by  water 
the  structure  has  the  exact  appearance  of  a  ves- 
sel moored  to  the  wharf.  It  is  fitted  with  all 
the  appliances  of  an  actual  ship,  such  as  guns, 
turrets,  torpedo  tubes,  anchors,  etc.  The  navy 
department  will  send  on  a  special  crew  to  serve 
during  the  exposition  and  the  visitors  will  have 
an  opportunity  to  witness  all  the  workings  of  an 
American  man-of-war. 

A  delightful  feature  of  the  fair  will  be  the 
mammoth  casino  and  pier.  The  pier  runs  out 
1,000  feet  into  Lake  Michigan  and  at  its  extrem- 
ity is  the  casino,  which  is  so  constructed  as  to 
give,  on  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan,  a  minia- 
ture representation  of  ibeautiful  Venice.  The 
casino  is  built  on  piles  and  embraces  nine 
pavilions,eight  of  which  are  two  stories  in  height, 
the  center  one  rearing  180'  feet.  Bridges  and 
gondolas  afford  communication  between  the 
pavilions.  In  part  of  the  casino  is  a  harbor  for 
pleasure  craft.  At  night  the  harbor  will  be 
lighted  by  incandescent  lamps  sunk  beneath 
the  surface  of  the  water  and  the  brilliancy  of 
the  scene  may  be  imagined. 

The  Illinois  State  building  occupies  a  fine  site 
in  the  prettiest  spot  in  Jackson  park.  The 


250 

state  appropriated  $800,000  for  this  building 
and  the  money  has  been  well  expended.  The 
building  is  450  feet  in  length  by  160  feet  in 
width,  and  is  constructed  of  wood,  stone,  brick 
and  steel,  nearly  all  the  material  having  been 
procured  in  Illinois.  A  feature  of  the  building 
is  Memorial  Hall,  which  contains  a  superb  col- 
lection of  relics  of  the  war  and  other  periods. 
An  admirable  view  of  the  main  exhibit  hall  may 
be  had  from  the  spacious  galleries.  The  exhibit 
will  include  five  model  school-rooms,  equipped 
and  furnished  under  the  direction  of  the  state 
superintendent  of  public  instruction.  Here  will 
be  illustrated  the  methods  of  education  pursued 
in  the  state,  from  the  common  school  to  the 
university.  The  exhibit  also  includes  collec- 
tions illustrating  the  natural  history  and  archae- 
ology of  the  state;  an  exhibition  by  the  State 
Fish  Commission  of  native  and  cultivated  live 
fish,  with  hatchery,  appliances  and  equipments 
for  transportation.  Also  maps,  charts,  etc.,  il- 
lustrative of  all  the  resources  of  the  state.  The 
women  of  Illinois  were  promised,  or  presented 
with,  $80,000  and  space  in  this  building  for  a 
special  exhibit  illustrating  women's  work  in  the 
state. 


PART  III. 

THE    DEDICATORY    CEREMONIES. 


THOUGH  the  great 
exposition  will  not  be 
formally  opened  until 
May  ist,  1893,  the  fall 
season  of  the  present  year 
will  witness  the  dedica- 
tory ceremonies,  which 
will  be  conducted  on  a 
scale  of  magnificence  un- 
equaled  in  the  history  of 
such  enterprises.  The  dedication  of  the  build- 
ings will  in  reality  be  a  sort  of  informal  opening 
of  the  fair  itself,  inasmuch  as  the  publication 
of  accounts  of  the  ceremonies  will  start  the 
stream  of  visitors  Chicago-ward,  and  all  through 
the  succeeding  year,  up  to  the  time  of  the  open- 
ing, people  will  journey  hither  to  see  how  the 
colossal  enterprise  is  progressing.  It  crowds 
are  willing  even  now  to  pay  an  admission  fee 
of  25  cents  (which  is  at  present  charged)  to  see 
the  buildings  in  their  embryotic  state,  how 
much  more  willing  will  they  be  to  do  so  after 
the  dedication  of  the  buildings  has  set  the  stamp 
of  actuality  on  the  stupendous  display. 


252 

The  dedication  ceremonies  are  to  take  place 
in  October  of  the  present  year,  and  the  pro- 
gramme has  been  fully  arranged.  The  celebra- 
tion will  last  four  days,  during  which  one  of  the 
features  will  be  a  military  encampment.  The 
troops  will  be  under  command  of  an  officer  of 
the  United  States  army,  to  be  designated  here- 
after by  the  Secretary  of  War.  The  ceremonies 
will  open  with  a  mammoth  civic  parade  which 
will,  doubtless,  be  appreciated  by  the  thousands 
of  visitors  who  will  by  that  time  have  assem- 
bled. The  parade  will  be  allegorical  in  charac- 
ter and  typical  of  the  world's  "march  of  pro- 
gress." This  will  transpire  during  the  morning 
hours.  In  the  evening  there  will  be  an  even 
grander  display,  in  the  form  of  'the  "Procession 
of  Centuries,"  a  historical  representation  of 
American  progress,  including  scenes  in  the  life 
of  Columbus,  and  showing  the  gigantic  strides 
accomplished  in  science  and  art,  the  discovery 
and  development  of  steam,  electricity,  etc. 
This  procession  will  be  repeated  each  evening 
during  the  four  days'  celebration.  The  regular 
evening  features  will  also  include  magnificent 
displays  of  fireworks  at  Jackson  Park  and  along 
the  Lake  Front. 

The  feature  of  the  second  day's  celebration 
will  be  a  magnificent  military  parade  and  re- 
view, in  which  all  the  visiting  troops  will  take 


253 

part.  The  display  of  the  following  day  will  be  for 
dedication  day  proper,  and  the  main  building 
in  Jackson  Park  will  be  the  scene  of  the  me- 
morial services.  An  idea  of  the  grandeur  of 
these  services  may  be  gained  from  a  glance  at 
the  programme  as  already  mapped  out. 
Promptly  at  10  o'clock  in  the  morning  the 
troops  will  parade  in  readiness  to  receive  Ben- 
jamin Harrison,  president  of  the  United  States, 
with  proper  military  honors.  After  being  saluted 
by  the  troops  the  president  will  lead  the  way 
into  the  building,  accompanied  by  his  cabinet, 
the  diplomatic  corps  (which  will  come  on  in  a 
body  from  Washington  for  the  occasion),  and 
other  distinguished  foreigners.  Inside  the 
building  the  president  will  receive  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  thirteen  original  states  with 
proper  ceremonies.  After  this  the  remaining 
states  will  be  received  in  the  order  of  their  ad- 
mission to  the  union.  The  various  states  will 
be  represented  by  their  governors  and  their  staffs, 
whose  brilliant  uniforms,  together  with  the  ban- 
ners and  other  insignia  that  they  will  bear,  will 
contribute  to  a  scene  the  gorgeousness  of  which 
can  scarcely  be  imagined. 

When  the  formal  receptions  are  over  and  the 
great  throng  of  people  comfortably  arranged  the 
following  programme  will  be  observed: 


254 

1.  Overture — (Original  music  by  an  American  composer.) 

2.  Prayer. 

3.  Address  and  report  from  Director-General  George  R.  Davis. 

4.  Presentation  of  buildings  by  the  president  of  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition  to  the  president  of  the  World's  Columbian 
Commission. 

5.  Commemoration  Ode — (Miss  Harriet  Monroe) — with  original 
music. 

6.  Address  by  the  president  of  the  United  States. 

7.  "Star-Spangled  Banner." 

8.  Dedication  oration. 

9.  Hallelujah  chorus. 

10.  National  salute  of  forty-eight  battery  volleys. 

On  the  evening  of  the  second  day  the  president 
will  hold  a  reception  in  honor  of  the  diplomatic 
corps,  distinguished  foreigners  and  invited 
guests.  On  the  evening  of  the  third  day  there 
will  be  a  grand  dedication  ball  at  the  Auditor- 
ium, a  ball  which  for  magnificence  and  brilliancy 
will  probably  supersede  anything  ever  seen  in 
this  country.  Even  now,  several  months  before 
the  date  set,  people  are  figuring  on  how  to 
secure  invitations,  but  as  5,000  people  at  the 
most  can  enter  the  ball-room  many  of  course 
will  have  to  be  disappointed.  Participation  in 
this  gorgeousy<?&?  will  be  confined  to  very  prom- 
inent citizens  and  distinguished  visitors  from 
other  cities  and  across  the  ocean.  Every  day 
there  will  be  military  drills  and  parades,  closing 
on  the  last  day  with  a  grand  sham  battle. 

The  foregoing  is  merely  an  outline  of  the  en- 
tertaining and  elaborate  ceremonies.  It  is 


255 

only  reasonable  to  expect  that  the  programme 
will  be  enlarged  in  its  attractiveness  as  the  time 
approaches  for  carrying  out  the  carefully  stud- 
ied plans  and  features.  It  is  to  be  presumed 
that  every  one  knows  these  ceremonies  will  be 
commemorative  of  the  completion  of  the  world's 
fair  buildings.  The  day  after  the  ceremonies 
are  concluded  the  work  of  arranging  the  exhib- 
its in  the  buildings  will  begin  and  this  will  be  car- 
ried on  with  all  due  expedition  until  the  great 
opening  day,  ist  of  May,  1893.  The  cere- 
monies, it  should  be  stated,  are  at  present  under 
the  charge  of  the  following  gentlemen.composing 
the  committee  on  ceremonies  of  the  World's 
Columbian  Commission:  Hon.  P.  A.  B.  Wide- 
ner,  Philadelphia,  Pa. ;  Hon.  John  D.  Adams, 
Little  Rock,  Ark.;  Hon.  Wm.  Lindsay,  Frank- 
fort, Ky. ;  Gen.  V.  D.  Groner,  Norfolk,  Va. ; 
Hon.  C.  H.  Richmond,  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.;  Hon. 
G.  W.  Allen,  Auburn,  N.  Y. ;  Hon.  M.  B.  Har- 
rison, Duluth,  Minn.;  Gov.  R.  B.  Furnas, 
Brownsville,  Neb.  And  of  the  following  who 
compose  the  committee  on  ceremonies  of  the 
World's  Columbian  Exposition:  Messrs.  Ed- 
ward F.  Lawrence,  Chas.  T.  Yerkes,  James  W. 
Ellsworth,  Charles  L.  Hutchinson,  W.  D.  Ker- 
foot,  Ferd.  W.  Peck,  Charles  H.  Schwab,  Chas. 
H.  Wacker — all  of  Chicago. 


256 

Acting  for  the  best  interests  of  everybody 
concerned  these  two  committees,  acting  as  the 
joint  committee,  have  selected  the  following 
sub-committee  to  assist  them  with  the  details 
in  connection  with  the  preparation  for  the  cere- 
monies : 

On  behalf  of  the  World's  Columbian  commis- 
sion— Director-General  George  R.  Davis  and 
Secretary  John  T.  Dickinson.  On  behalf  of 
the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  association 
— Chas.  T.  Yerkes,  E.  F.  Lawrence  and  C.  H. 
Wacker. 


PART  IV. 

THE    CHICAGO    HUSSARS. 

THERE  is  every  rea- 
son to  suppose  that 
considerable  interest 
will  attach  to  the  Chi- 
cago Hussars,  a  regi- 
ment of  volunteer  cav- 
alry which  has  already 
secured  the  honor  of 
acting  as  special  es- 
cort to  the  officers  of 
the  exposition  on  all 
occasions  of  state. 
The  Chicago  Hussars 
are  comprised  of  gen- 
tlemen who  own  their 
horses  and  are  rich  enough  to  afford  the  luxury 
of  costly  uniforms,  expensive  banquets  and 
other  delights  dear  to  the  military  heart.  Mr. 
E.  L.  Brand,  a  prominent  citizen,  is  the  com- 
manding officer  of  the  Hussars,  and  the  rank 
and  file  numbers  over  a  hundred  gentlemen, 
who,  when  mounted  on  their  dashing  steeds 
and  clad  in  their  gorgeous  trappings,  present  a 
most  dazzling  appearance.  Chicago  at  present 


258 

enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  the  only   city   of 
the  United   States  possessing  a  volunteer  cav- 
alry  regiment.     The    Hussars   are    shortly  to 
erect,  at  some  advantageous  point  on  the  South 
side    convenient  to    the   boulevard,    the  finest 
club-house  and  armory  in  America.     This  will 
include  a  riding  ring,  perfect    in    appointments 
and  over  500   feet  in  circumference.     The  ap- 
pointments include  one  hundred  box  stalls  and 
a  balcony  seating   fifteen   hundred   spectators, 
commanding  a  perfect  view  of  the  ring.     The 
prosperity  of  the  Hussars  and  their  appointment 
by  the   director-general  of  the  exposition  as  a 
special  guard  of  honor,  for   properly  escorting 
distinguished    visitors    and  officials    about  the 
city  during  the  continuance  of  the  fair,   makes  a 
membership  in  their  ranks  a  prize  much  to  be 
desired.       The   volunteer  cavalrymen    on    the 
march  will  be  one  of  the  sights  of  the  city.    The 
regiment's  list  of  officers  is  as  follows:     Captain, 
E.  L.  Brand;  First  Lieutenant,  M.  L.  C.  Funk- 
houser;   Second    Lieutenant,   Joseph  B.  Keene. 
The  staff  officers  are:     Inspector,   P.  R.  Mc- 
Leod;  Judge   Advocate,   A.  Fouguer;  Quarter- 
Master,  Charles  Kern;  Surgeon,  Stewart  John- 
stone,  M.  D. 


PART  V. 
WORLD'S  CONGRESS. 

THE  imposing  structure  known  as  the  Per- 
manent Memorial  Art  Palace,  about  to  be 
erected  on  the  site  of  the  old  exposition  build- 
ing and  mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter,  is  to 
be  the  scene  of  some  notable  gatherings  during 
the  continuance  of  the  fair.  The  building  is  to 
be  devoted  to  the  exclusive  use  of  the  world's 
congresses.  It  will  contain  two  large  audience 
halls,  having  a  seating  capacity  of  3,500  each, 
with  twenty  smaller  halls,  which  may  be  utilized 
by  committees  and  other  bodies  into  which  con- 
gresses are  usually  divided.  These  world's 
Congresses  will  be  interesting  from  every  stand- 
point. There  will  be  special  congresses  of  last- 
ing organizations,  under  the  supervision  of  the 
auxiliary,  to  which  will  be  delegated  the  consid- 
erationof  all  live  questions,  such  congressesbeing 
conducted  by  their  own  special  officers.  There 
will  also  be  popular  congresses,  open  to  all  who 
may  desire  to  attend,  and  at  which  will  be  pres- 
ented for  discussion  all  questions  governing  the 
results  of  human  progress  in  all  the  channels  of 
civilized  life.  The  discussion  will  be  carried  on 
under  the  direction  of  the  ablest  exponent  of  that 


26o 

particular  branch  of  knowedge  whose  services 
can  be  procured  for  the  occasion.  These  con- 
gresses, besides  providing  the  various  organiz- 
ations with  the  opportunity  to  discuss  their  in- 
terests, will  secure  to  the  people  the  opportun- 
ity to  hear  words  of.  wisdom  from  the  wisest  of 
mankind.  Suppose  Mr.  Gladstone,  the  most 
eminent  Englishman  of  his  time,  should  visit 
the  fair,  as  is  not  improbable?  Should  he  do 
so  he  will  unquestionably  be  invited  to  deliver 
an  oration.  Mr.  Gladstone  is  only  one  of  many 
European  notables  who  are  expected  to  attend, 
and  they  will  of  course  be  conspicuous  at  these 
world's  congresses  in  the  Permanent  Art  build- 
ing. 


PART  VI. 


THE    FAIR    ITSELF. 

WHEN  Mr.  Edwin 
Lee  Brown,  a  pioneer 
citizen  of  Chicago, 
died  in  the  summer 
of  1891,  there  passed 
away  the  man  who  is 
;  said  to  have  been  the 
;  first  to  suggest  the 
:  idea  of  holding  a 
world's  fair  in  com- 
^memoration  of  the 
4OOth  anniversary  of 
the  discovery  '.'of 
America.  The  mind, 
therefore,  which  con- 
ceived this  mighty 
project,  over  which  all  the  nations  are  agog,  is 
now  stilled  in  everlasting  sleep,  but  to  those  of 
us  who  have  memories  the  fair  will  remain  a 
lasting  monument  to  the  greatness  of  that  mas- 
ter mind. 

Mr.  Brown  first  proposed  his  scheme  to  a 
meeting  of  citizens  in  1885.  His  words  took 
root  immediately.  Like  a  flash  the  idea  rushed 


262 

through  the  land,  and  met  with  such  a  unani- 
mous response  that  long  before  the  plan  had 
the  sanction  of  Congress  the  holding  of  the 
fair  was  a  certainty.  From  the  time  it  so  be- 
came a  settled  fact  in  prospect  a  number  of  cit- 
ies waged  a  strong  and  at  times  bitter  fight 
for  the  honor  of  having  the  fair  held  within 
their  favorite  environ.  New  York'  was  Chicago's 
most  formidable  rival,  though  various  other 
cities  contested  determinedly  for  the  honor. 
Chicago's  campaign  was  carried  on  with  energy. 
A  stock  company  was  formed  and  $5,000,000 
subscribed — $5,000,000  more  being  pledged 
long  before  it  was  needed.  Headquarters  were 
established  and  agents  sent  all  over  the  United 
States  to  enlist  the  national  sympathies  in  be- 
half of  Chicago.  When  the  question  of  loca- 
tion finally  came  up  before  Congress  the  strug- 
gle was  sharp,  short  and  decisive.  But  a  few 
ballots  were  taken  when  the  decision  was  made. 
That  night  was  a  happy  one  in  Chicago.  Some 
people  celebrated  a  little  uproariously,  it  is  true, 
but  "everything  went,"  so  to  speak,  on  an  oc- 
casion like  that,  and  nobody  complained  of  the 
widespread  enthusiasm. 

Not  a  day  was  lost.  It  seems  a  long  stretch 
of  time  since  then,  but  everything  considered 
the  progress  made  has  been  simply  phenomenal. 
All  udges  agree  on  this  point.  The  great  na- 


263 

\ 

tions  of  the  earth,  in  response  to  the  president's 
proclamation,  have  signified  their  intention  to 
be  fully  represented.  The  following  is  a  list  of 


the  countries  that  will  participate,  showing  the 
amounts  appropriated  by  their  respective  gov- 
ernments: 

Argentine  Republic,  $100,000;  Austria-Hun- 
gary$i47,ooo;  Bolivia,  $150,000;  Brazil,  $550,000 


264 

Chile,  $100,000;  Colombia,  $100,000;  Costa  Rica, 
$100,000;  Danish  West  Indies,  $10,000;  Ecuador, 
$125,000;  France,  $400,000;  Germany,  $20,000; 
$2 1 5,ooo;Great  Britain, $i  25,000;  British  Guiana, 
British  Honduras,  $7,000;  Cape  Colony,  $25,000; 
Ceylon,  $40,000;  Jamaica,  $10,000;  New  Zea- 
land, $27,500;  Trinidad,  $15,000;  Guatemala, 
$120,000;  Honduras,  $20,000;  Japan,  $700,000; 
Mexico,  $750,000;  Dutch  Guiana,  $6,000;  Dutch 
West  Indies,  $10,000;  Nicaragua,  $30,000;  Peru, 
$140,000;  Salvador,  $30,000;  Cuba,  $25,000. 

It  is  hardly  possible,  in  mere  words,  to  con- 
vey an  idea  of  what  the  fair  will  be  like,  but 
from  previous  chapters  the  reader  will  have 
formed  his  own  opinion  and  his  imagination 
must  supply  the  rest.  To  say  that  it  will  be 
the  most  wonderful  exhibition  in  all  history  is 
to  employ  very  mild  language  indeed.  The 
grounds  will  present  a  sight  that  will  never  be 
forgotten.  At  night,  when  all  the  buildings  are 
glittering  with  their  myriads  of  electric  lights 
and  great  showers  of  fireworks  soaring  heaven- 
ward; when  the  great  lake  itself  fairly  blazes 
under  the  glare  of  illuminated  craft  and  the 
stupendous  carnival  is  at  its  hight,  the  visitor 
may  be  pardoned,  if,  in  the  excitement  of  the 
moment,  he  fancies  that  he  has  fallen  off  the 
earth  and  stepped  into  another  world,  peopled 
by  fairies  and  decked  with  palaces  reared  by 
the  magicians'  wand. 


PART  VII. 


SPECIAL  FEATURES  OF  THE    FAIR. 

ASIDE 

from      the 
great  build- 
ings that  will 
of   course    be 
the    main 
points    o  f 
-  interest, 
there  are 

numerous  special  features  promised — features 
that  will  be  unique  in  their  way  and  reflecting 
in  a  great  degree  the  manners  and  customs  of 
the  people  who  inhabit  the  countries  of  which 
they  will  be  typical.  It  has  been  decided  that 
a  single  entrance  fee,  probably  fifty  cents,  shall 
entitle  the  visitors  to  see  the  entire  exposition 
proper.  For  the  special  attractions  on  Midway 
Plaisance  a  moderate  additional  charge  will  be 
made.  In  the  course  of  time  these  attractions 
will  doubtless  be  added  to,  but  even  the  present 
plans  are  liberal  enough  to  give  satisfaction. 
The  Plaisance,  which  is  a  strip  of  land  connect- 
ing Jackson  Park  with  Washington  Park,  will 
be  occupied  throughout  its  entire  length  by 


266 


special  exposition  features,  largely  of  a  foreign 
character,  such  as  the  "Bazaar  of  All  Nations/' 
'Street  in  Cairo,"  "Street  in  Constantinople," 
"Moorish  Palace,"  "Maori  Village,"  etc.  Con- 
^  cessions  have  been  granted  to  all 
these  enterprises  and  their  production 
r  will  represent  the 
expenditure  of  hun- 


dreds of  thousands 
of  dollars.  Pano- 
ramas, cycloramas, 
the  sliding  railway, 
etc.,  will  also  be 
located  in  this  part 
of  the  exhibition  grounds. 

A  person  of  imaginative  temperament  can 
easily  picture  to  himself  the  attractions  that  may 
be  found  in  this  locality.  The  "Bazaar  of  All 
Nations"  is  a  mammoth  structure  in  which  will 


267 

be  representatives  of  almost  every  clime  under 
the  sun,  grouped  in  their  native  habitations  and 
presenting  to  the  visitor  exactly  the  same  ap- 
pearance as  that  which  characterizes  their  home 
routine  of  life.  Their  manufactures,  occupa- 
tions and  pleasures  will  be  graphically  pictured. 
The  "Street  in  Cairo"  is  to  be  exactly  what  its 
name  implies.  A  street  in  that  sleepy  and 
quaint  old  Egyptian  city  will  be  deftly  repro- 
duced, in  passing  down  which  the  visitor  may 
see  sights  exactly  similar  to  those  that  would 
greet  his  vision  if  he  were  touring  in  far-off 
Cairo  itself  instead  of  in  Chicago — the  famous 
city  that  finds  everything  possible,  even  to  the 
reproduction  of  an  entire  Egyptian  city,  to  say 
nothing  of  a  single  street  from  such.  The 
Moorish  Palace  will  be  a  splendid  structure 
and  within  its  gorgeous  recesses  one  may  wan- 
der and  try  to  imagine  how  Othello  felt  when 
he  paced  his  vaulted  halls  a  prey  to  the  demon 
jealousy. 

According  to  recent  plans  fully  1 50  restaurants 
and  cafes  will  be  in  operation  in  the  various 
buildings  and  about  the  grounds.  These  will 
be  conveniently  distributed  and  will  have  an  es- 
timated aggregate  seating  capacity  of  6,000  to 
8,000.  It  is  intended  to  have  in  the  Fisheries 
building  a  restaurant  devoted  as  far  as  possi- 
ble to  the  exclusive  serving  of  fish.  Fish  din- 


268 


ners  and  fish,  fresh  and  salt,  served  in  every  edi- 
ble style,  it  is  believed,  will  be  a  popular  fea- 
ture. In  view  of  the  present  outlook  it  doesn't 
seem  as  though  any  visitor  need  go  hungry  at 
the  fair. 

In  line  with  =^ci:r!j^HS_  *ne  special 
features,  per-  flJjJBSSpTPilljf  haps,  is  the 
announcement  &jjlff\  |j^Wjjf#'  recently  made 
that  a  silver- 
smith in  Mon- 


terey,  Mexico,  is 
engaged  on  a  work 
n  silver  which 
when  completed  will  be  an  exact  reproduction 
of  the  Agricultural  building  now  in  process  of 


269 

completion  at  the  exposition  grounds.  It 
will  be  eight  feet  wide,  will  contain  a  quality 
of  silver  valued  as  bullion  at  $10,000,  and  when 
finished  will  be  valued  at  $20,000.  The 
Connecticut  members  of  the  Board  of  Lady 
Managers  have  undertaken  to  raise  by 
contribution  a  fund  with  which  to  pay  for  a  fine 
bust  of  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe.  This  will  be 
their  contribution  toward  the  adornment  of  the 
walls  of  the  Woman's  building.  Copies  of  Mrs. 
Stowe's  literary  works  will  also  be  contributed. 
The  President  of  Ecuador  has  decreed  that 
the  governors  of  each  state  of  the  Republic 
shall  collect  and  forward  to  Quito,  the  capital, 
exhibits  of  all  kinds  illustrating  the  riches  and 
productions  of  their  several  states.  The  Arch- 
bishop of  Ecuador  has  issued  an  order'  to  the 
bishops  and  priests  throughout  the  Republic 
directing  them  to  do  the  same,  and  also  collect 
and  forward  everything  which  may  be  in  their 
keeping  illustrative  of  the  history  of  the  country 
suitable  to  exhibit  at  Chicago.  The  Consul- 
General  of  the  United  States  at  Quito  has  di- 
rected the  consuls  and  vice-consuls  and  consular 
agents  at  different  points  in  Ecuador  to  assist 
the  governors  of  states  in  every  way  possible 
in  the  matter  of  collection  of  articles  relating 
to  commerce  with  exterior  countries.  The  en- 
tire exhibit  so  collected  will  be  forwarded  in- 
tact to  Chicago. 


270 

Lieut.  Baker,  head  of  the  marine  section  of 
the  department  of  transportation,  has  secured 
a  promise  from  the  Detroit  Dry-dock  Company 
for  an  exhibit  of  a  perfect  model  in  stucco  of 
the  entire  ship-building  plant  of  that  company, 
both  at  its  Detroit  and  Wyandotte  yards. 

A  bill  has  recently  been  introduced  in  Con- 
gress carrying  an  appropriation  of  $18,000  "to 
procure,  prepare,  compile  for  publication  and 
publish  statistics  of  the  moral,  intellectual  and 
industrial  progress  of  the  colored  people  of  the 
United  States  from  January  i,  1863,  the  date  of 
the  emancipation  proclamation,  to  January  i, 
1893,  as  a  part  of  the  government  exhibit,  the 
same  to  illustrate  the  growth  of  liberty,  moral- 
ity and  humanity  of  the  United  States." 

The  women  of  England,  it  is  understood,  are 
actively  preparing  for  their  participation  in  the 
exposition.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Woman's 
Committee  in  London,  March  3,  of  the  present 
year,  it  was  announced  that  Queen  Victoria  had 
promised  specimens  of  her  own  work  in  spin- 
ning and  knitting,  done  when  she  was  a  girl; 
also  some  of  her  embroidering,  fine  drawing  and 
water-color  painting.'  Princess  Louise  will  con- 
tribute some  clay  modelling,  Princess  Beatrice 
several  paintings  and  Princess  Christian  some 
embroidery. 

It  is  probable  that   the  visitors  to  the  expo- 


2/1 

sition  will  have  an  opportunity  to  see  a  more 
extensive  and  finer  exhibition  of  ancient  Greek 
art  than  it  has  heretofore  been  possible  to  con- 
template outside  of  Greece.  Mr.  P.  Canread- 
ing,  director-general  of  Grecian  antiquities,  has 
accepted  the  invitation  to  participate  in  the  ex- 
position, with  the  understanding  that  it  will  be 
represented  only  by  memorials  of  its  antiquities. 
Charles  Walstein,  director  of  the  American 
school  of  classic  studies  at  Athens,  states  that 
the  Grecian  government  has  agreed  to  make 
and  send  to  the  exposition  casts  of  the  princi- 
pal works  of  ancient  art  now  in  Greece,  together 
with  maps,  diagrams  and  photographs.  To 
these  will  probably  be  added  casts  and  perhaps 
some  of  the  original  specimens  of  classic  Greek 
art  which  are  now  distributed  throughout  Eu- 
rope. 

A  wheelman's  parade,  participated  in  by  24,- 
ooo  bicyclists,  may  be  one  of  the  sights  at  the 
exposition.  Efforts  are  being  made  to  bring 
about  that  result. 

The  Pennsylvania  coal  operators  want  to  con- 
struct a  building  entirely  of  anthracite  coal  at 
the  exposition  and  to  have  50,000  tons  of  best 
anthracite  on  exhibition. 

A  continuous  clam-bake  will  be  one   of  the 
attractions  which  epicurean  visitors  will  find  at. 
the  exposition. 


272 

The  South  African  diamond  mine  exhibit  will 
doubtless  prove  an  eye-opener,  to  use  a  slang 
expression.  The  exhibit  will  come  from  Cape 
Colony  and  will  include  10,000  carats  of  uncut 
stones,  a  very  large  quantity  of  stones  fine  cut 
and  polished,  together  with  all  that  is  necessary 
to  show  the  process  of  mining  and  washing. 
For  this  it  will  be  necessary  to  transport  to 
Chicago  lootonsof  pulverized  blue  earth,  50 
tons  of  unpulverized  earth,  and  a  complete 
washing  machine,  which  will  be  operated  by 
natives.  The  exhibit  will  also  include  a  unique 
collection  of  crocidolite,  special  diamondiferous 
products,  ostrich  feathers,  fleeces,  etc.  It  is  re- 
ported that  a  Bushman  and  Hottentot  in  native 
dress  will  accompany  the  exhibit. 

A  communication  has  been  received  by  the 
fair  officials  from  the  British  Commission  ask- 
ing for  space  to  exhibit  the  rifle-calibre  guns 
manufactured  by  the  Maxim-Nordenfeldt  Gun 
Company.  The  company  wants  to  erect  a 
building  in  which  to  exhibit  its  guns  in  practice. 
One  end  of  the  building  will  be  filled  with  sand- 
bags into  which  the  projectiles  of  the  guns  will 
be  fired.  It  is  claimed  that  the  arrangements 
are  such  as  will  insure  perfect  safety  and  will  be 
reproductions  of  a  similar  exhibit  recently  given 
.at  the  Royal  Naval  Exposition  in  London. 


273 

The  wooded  island  in  the  exposition 
grounds  has  already  begun  to  assume  the  char- 
acter which  in  great  part  it  will  have  during  the 
fair — that  of  a  gigantic  flower  garden.  The 
horticultural  department  has  recently  received 
27,000  rose  bushes  and  other  plants,  several 
thousand  of  which  came  from  abroad.  These 
are  being  transplanted  on  the  island. 

It  may  be  said  to  be  assured  that  the  exhibits 
at  the  fair  will  cover  a  wider  range  and  be  far 
more  numerous  than  any  array  ever  before 
gathered  together.  They  will  present  a  picture 
of  the  condition  and  industrial  progress  of  man- 
kind in  every  quarter  of  the  world  and  of  its 
achievements  in  every  branch  of  the  sciences 
and  arts.  The  exposition  classification  em- 
braces 12  departments,  176  groups  and  967 
classes.  The  applications  for  space  by  intend- 
ing exhibitors  in  the  United  States  alone  num- 
bered 2,082  in  January  last.  The  number  at  the 
Philadelphia  Centennial  in  corresponding  space 
was  864.  Applications  from  foreign  visitors  are 
rapidly  increasing  in  numbers.  It  seems  as- 
sured that  the  visitors  will  outnumber  those  at 
any  previous  world's  fair. 

In  April,  1893,  a  grand  international  naval 
review,  preliminary  to  the  opening  of  the  ex- 
position, as  provided  for  by  an  act  of  Congress, 


274 

will  be  held  in  New  York  harbor,  arrangements 
for  which  are  already  in  progress.  All  the  great 
navies  of  the  world  will  participate  in  this  vast 
aquatic  pageant. 


PART  VIII. 


ABOUT    THE  CITY    DURING  FAIR   TIME. 

WITH  the 
exception  of 
the  Auditor- 
ium and 
the  Chica- 
go Opera 
House  the 
plans  of 

which  have  been  heretofore  outlined,  the 
theatres,  so  far  as  at  present  known,  have  not 
arranged  for  any  special  attractions  during  the 
fair.  All  of  the  down-town  houses  have  booked 
more  or  less  to  the  time  from  May  to  October, 
and  the  attractions  for  the  most  part  are  such 
standard  renditions  as  have  been  proved  popu- 
lar with  playgoers  for  the  last  two  or  three 
years.  The  patron  of  the  regular  playhouses 
will  be  able  to  take  his  choice  between  grand 
or  light  opera,  local  drama,  tragedy,  comedy  or 
burlesque,  and  the  most  exacting  taste  will 
doubtless  be  amply  satisfied.  The  contract 
between  managers  Abbey  and  Adams  for  the 
production  at  the  Auditorium  has  already  been 
signed  and  the  spectacle  to  be  presented  there 


276 

will,  it  is  expected,  eclipse  anything  that  these 
two  managers  have  ever  before  attempted.  At 
the  Chicago  Opera  House  the  first  great  suc- 
cesses in  the  way  of  burlesque  that  Mr.  Hender- 
senscored,  "Arabian  Nights,"  "Crystal  Slipper," 
and  "Sinbad,"  are  to  be  repeated  in  rotation, 
and  people  will  have  an  opportunity  to  witness 
the  perfection  of  the  class  of  entertainment 
termed  by  the  irreverent  "leg-shows,"  but  known 
to  the  world  at  large  by  the  more  dignified  title 
of  burlesque. 

Pain  &  Sons,  the  great  firm  whose  pyrotech- 
nical  productions  have  made  them  famous 
wherever  fireworks  are  known,  are  to  produce 
their  famous  spectacle,  "The  Fall  of  Pompeii," 
at  the  Cottage  Grove  amphitheatre,  near  South 
park,  this  summer.  They  are  also,  it  is  under- 
stood, arranging  for  a  production  on  a  much 
more  wonderful  scale  for  the  fair  season  in  the 
same  locality.  One  of  the  beauties  of  the  Pain 
projections  is  their  shortness.  Their  glare  and 
brilliancy  is  generally  crowded  into  an  hour  or 
at  most  an  hour  and  a  half,  thus  enabling  the 
spectator  to  secure  a  surfeit  of  pleasure,  as  it 
were,  in  a  short  space  of  time,  without  forcing 
him  to  spend  an  unnecessary  season  in  waiting, 
Micawber-like,  for  something  to  turn  up. 

The  racing,  the  boating,  the  riding,  and  the 
hundred  other  attractions  of  the  city  have  al- 


277 

ready  been  described  in  detail.  None  are  likely 
to  get  away  between  the  present  time  and  the 
day  set  for  the  opening  of  the  fair.  On  the 
contrary,  they  are  likely  to  be  added  to  and  en- 
hanced, for  human  ingenuity  is  being  taxed  to 
its  utmost  to  invent  new  charms  for  the  pleas- 
ure-seeker and,  incidentally,  of  course,  to  catch 
the  nimble  dollar  that  he  is  willing  to  disburse 
for  the  procurement  of  such  pleasures,  elevat- 
ing or  otherwise. 

Of  course  no  well  regulated  person  ever  en- 
ters a  saloon  except  for  purposes  of  investiga- 
tion, but  there  are  a  few  saloons  and  cafes  in 
Chicago  that  are  visited  as  much  for  sight-see- 
ing as  for  liquid  refreshment.  In  some 
there  hang  pictures  worth  small  fortunes.  The 
objects  represented  are  generally  a  little  bit 
outre — "saloonisk"  as  I  have  heard  it  called. 
Hannah  &  Hogg's  saloons,  of  which  there  are 
several,  located  in  the  business  district  at  vari- 
ous points,  are  celebrated  for  the  works  of  art 
that  adorn  their  walls.  The  one  on  Madison 
street,  under  the  Madison  Street  Opera  House, 
contains  a  valuable  gallery  of  paintings,  the 
cash  estimate  of  which  runs  into  thousands 
of  dollars.  This  is  the  largest  place  owned 
by  the  firm ;  some  of  their  branch  establishments 
contain  rare  pictures  that  are  almost  as  valua- 
ble. 


278 

"Handsome  Harry  Varnell's"  place  on  South 
Clark  street,  near  Madison,  is  perhaps  the  most 
gorgeous  saloon  in  Chicago.  It  was  only  re- 
cently completed  at  a  cost  said  to  exceed  $40,- 
ooo.  All  the  walls  and  wainscoting  are  finished 
in  Mexican  onyx,  and  the  outer  part  is  designed 
in  iron  and  bronze.  Some  oil  paintings,  the  sub- 
jects of  which  are  very  interesting,  adorn  the 
walls.  Varnell,  the  proprietor,  is  a  "character." 
He  enjoys  a  large  popularity  with  the  sporting 
classes.  He  is  said  to  be  interested  in  the  Gar- 
field  park  race  track  and  is  quite  a  "plunger" 
at  other  games  as  well.  He  was  one  of  the  prin- 
cipals in  the  old-time  "boodle"  sensation,  which 
resulted  in  several  of  the  county  officials  of 
that  period  going  to  the  penitentiary  under  sen- 
tence for  bribery  and  corruption. 

Just  across  the  way  from  Varnell's  is  Lan- 
sing &  McGarigle's  saloon  and  restaurant,  a 
place  made  famous  both  by  the  personality  of 
its  chief  proprietor  and  by  a  historical  tragedy 
that  occurred  there  some  few  years  ago.  Wil- 
liam J.  McGarigle  has  held  various  offices.  He 
was  once  superintendent  of  police  and  later  war- 
den of  the  county  hospital.  When  the  boodle 
trials  were  held  he  was  tried  and  sentenced  to 
two  years  imprisonment,  but,  while  awaiting  in 
the  county  jail  the  result  of  his  appeal  for  a 
new  trial,  he  secured  permission  from  Canute  R. 


279 

Matson,  the  sheriff  of  the  county,  to  visit  his 
home.  He  drove  there  with  Matson,  and,  on 
the  pretext  of  taking  a  bath,  he  slipped  away 
from  the  house,  boarded  a  schooner,  and  got 
over  into  Canada.  His  flight  formed  one  of 
the  newspaper  sensations  of  the  hour.  Matson 
never  quite  recovered  from  the  shock.  In  the 
language  of  the  song,  McGarigle  "never  came 
back,"  that  is  to  say,  not  until  his  friends  had 
so  arranged  things  that  when  he  did  come  back 
he  was  permitted  to  pay  his  debt  to  the  law  by 
the  payment  of  a  fine  of  $1,000.  McGarigle's 
place  now  is  a  famous  rendezvous  for  "sports" 
of  both  sexes.  The  fare  served  is  of  a  high  qual- 
ity, and  the  visitor  may  find  all  the  enjoyment 
he  desires  in  studying  the  people  who  sit  at  the 
tables  near  him.  There  are  ladies  of  great 
beauty  and  of  all  ages,  but  all  of  whom  mani- 
festly belong  to  the  class  whose  existence  repu- 
table people  endeavor  to  forget;  there  are 
gamblers,  touts  and  so  on,  in  loud  clothes  and 
wearing  much  loud  jewelry,  both  genuine  and 
bogus.  The  best  of  order  and  good  conduct 
prevail  for  the  reason  that  no  boisterous  ac- 
tions are  tolerated.  But  sometimes  all  the  rules 
and  regulations  in  the  world  are  not  proof 
against  the  angry  passions  of  men,  a  fact  that 
was  conclusively  proved  by  the  tragedy  already 
mentioned. 


280 

The  principals  were  "Doc"  Haggerty,  a  well- 
known  and  very  muscular  person,  who  bore  the 
reputation  of  being  something  of  a  bully,  and 
"Jimmy"  Connorton,  a  gambler.  There  was  a 
feud  between  the  two  and  when  Connorton  went 
into  McGarigle's  place  one  Saturday  evening 
and  met  his  foe  face  to  face  high  words  and  blows 
were  instantly  interchanged.  Accounts  vary  as 
to  who  first  drew  the  deadly  pistol,  but  Connor- 
ton  got  in  the  first  shot.  He  shot  Haggerty 
through  the  stomach,  and  then  fled  through  the 
restaurant,  pursued  by  the  wounded  man,  who 
at  every  step  snapped  his  revolver  in  the  effort 
to  slay  his  adversary.  But  the  weapon  would 
not  explode,  and  it  was  not  until  the  two  reached 
the  sidewalk  and  Connorton  had  almost  suc- 
ceeded in  escaping  through  a  line  of  cabs  that 
it  did  respond  to  the  fall  of  the  hammer.  Con- 
norton sunk  to  the  sidewalk  desperately  wound- 
ed. The  excitement  over  the  tragedy  was  only 
equalled  by  that  occasioned  by  the  Dunn- 
Elliott  encounter  in  the  old  Tivoli.  Haggerty 
died,  but  Connorton  recovered  and  was  ac- 
quitted on  the  ground  of  self-defense.  At  pres- 
ent Lansing  &  McGarigle's  is  a  model  resort  of 
its  kind.  It  caters  to  the  sporting  element  al- 
most exclusively,  and  happily  such  tragedies 
like  the  one  here  told  do  not  occur  often. 

Hogan  and  Batchelder's,  two  well-known  and 


28 1 

popular  resorts  on  State  street,  also  cater  to 
the  sporting  element.  They  have  private  sup- 
per-rooms in  which  hilarious  parties  are  wont 
to  hold  high  revel,  especially  after  a  return  from 
a  successful  day  at  the  races. 

The  places  mentioned  are  of  course  of  a  cer- 
tain variety,  but  the  reader  has  been  told  in 
preceding  chapters  of  the  many  mpre  quiet 
and  more  decorous  places  that  he  may  visit.  It 
is  a  "great  big"  city,  full  of  all  sorts  of  attrac- 
tions, godly  and  ungodly.  If  the  world's 
fair  should  be  closed  on  Sundays,  something 
that  the  religious  element  is  sedulously  endeav- 
oring to  bring  about,  the  army  of  pleasure-seekers 
will  be  driven  to  the  city  itself  for  recreation. 


F 

5 


